Echoes of Always
by ginchy-amanda
Summary: A grieving Luke Skywalker faces an impossible choice, one which has ramifications for not only his own galaxy, but for another.  Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Echoes of Always  
><strong>Timeline:<strong> post-LotF, pre-FotJ AU  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I don't own these characters, but I certainly love them.  
><strong>Notes:<strong> This is definitely a labor of love. I wrote it for 2011's Nanowrimo, so other than a few scenes that still need to be written/fixed, the story is done. I will post a new chapter every Monday until the story is complete. There are three interludes that I will post periodically and will let you know on the Monday before they go up. Thanks must go to **JediMara77 **and **Jade_Pilot **for plotting and beta excellence.

**CHAPTER 1  
><strong>  
>The cantina was loud, raucous. Luke Skywalker drew his hood further over his head and suppressed a sigh. Han liked to joke that they were too old for this, <em>this<em>being anything he didn't feel particularly up to doing at the moment. And Luke most definitely did not feel up to this. He wasn't some CSF agent whose job was to pull low level criminals off the street. In fact, he wasn't sure why he had been called into this job, but figured it was like all the other jobs he'd been called into over the years—when a Jedi was needed, quite often not just any Jedi would do. Only he or a handful of others were ever asked for by name. And though he didn't like to play favorites or allow himself to be used, it was a very different thing when the Chief of State called in a favor to the Jedi.

Sidling up to the bar he ordered a drink in hopes of fitting in. Forty years on and he still knew that he was out of place in a cantina, probably more so now. And this cantina made Chalmun's look tame in comparison. He was quite sure he could see at least eight different illegal activities in his line of sight, and he didn't even want to think about what a Twi'lek barmaid was up to when she suddenly knelt down and crawled under a table.

As it was, Luke didn't care about Twi'lek barmaids or any of the other petty criminals in the pub. He was looking a specific man who was in a closed door private party. For a man with a billion credit secret and a price on his head from the GFFA, Marse Naelli had been surprisingly easy to find. It seemed that he had a bit of a gambling addiction and, under the persuasive guidance of a mind trick, his bookie had given up his address with barely a glazed look in his eye. The non-descript apartment rented in his name in Lower Coruscant had been empty, but after stopping at several local cantinas Luke had found the man he was looking for and was preparing to arrest him as soon as the party broke up. There was no use in biting off more than he could chew. He could take out at least a small group on his own, but his impulsiveness had dimmed somewhat with age and he was content to wait with a drink while Citizen Naelli blithely gambled away his last moments of freedom.

As the door of the party swung open, Luke cast out with the Force, determining little danger coming from any inhabitants of the room. Conniving, maybe, but not particularly dangerous. Mara always liked to tease that his danger sense wasn't fully formed, and she wasn't far from wrong. Sometimes he also wondered about his own danger sense. As always, the thought of Mara made him pause for a moment, thinking of her by his side as he took on this lowly assignment. "A Farmboy in a bar?" she would have joked, probably.

Would have.

Pushing that thought aside, he remembered to keep a clear head. No use in messing up this operation. He was only to be in and out, arrest Citizen Naelli, take him to CSF booking, and return home to his empty apartment.

Naelli barely looked up as he left the cantina, and Luke followed after a moment, hastily dropping some creds on the counter. He went out the back exit and followed around two buildings until he found Naelli walking towards a connecting skywalk. There was no need to drag it out any further. "Citizen Marse Naelli," he said, coming up behind him, "you're under arrest for crimes against the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances." He stated his own name and authorization, waiting for Naelli to react.

To his credit, Naelli didn't run. He turned and looked at Luke with an upraised brow. "Luke Skywalker sent to arrest me? I'm honored."

Luke pulled out a pair of stun cuffs. "Place your hands out where I can see them," he said, drawing closer.

Naelli put a hand into his overcoat instead. The snap-hiss of Luke's lightsaber was loud in the darkened street, the green glow of the blade ominous. "Put your hands where I can see them," Luke ordered again.

The short little man complied this time, quickly removing his hand from his coat. He held a small black device in one hand.

Luke sharpened his senses and looked at the object Naelli was holding, hardly bigger than a standard datapad. It didn't appear to be a weapon of any sort, but he had been warned that Naelli had special means to escape and that's why a Jedi was needed to arrest him. Naelli starting tapping against the object and Luke deactivated and dropped his saber to his side, springing forward, moving faster than Naelli could track with his eyes. Luke grabbed the man's hand and removed the object. He held it immobile in the air as he pulled Naelli's arms behind his back and cuffed him. Following CSF protocol he began reciting a list of Naelli's rights under Coruscant Law. It was all over in a matter of seconds.

"No wonder they sent a Jedi," Naelli muttered.

Luke paid him little attention, grabbing the device and walking forward, forcing Naelli to move toward Luke's waiting speeder. Reaching the speeder, Luke tossed the object into the front passenger seat and waved his hand toward the back door, using a simple Force command to open it.

"Careful with that!" Naelli said, nodding his head towards the device.

"Your property will be fine, Citizen Naelli," Luke said, pushing him down and into the sealed back of the speeder. "You'll get it back once you've served the time for your crime."

"And what crime is that?" Naelli muttered through the speaker in the transparisteel that separated the front from the back of the CSF speeder.

Luke didn't answer, as Naelli knew the answer to his own question. Naelli's rights had been read to him and once he was delivered to the CSF offices, he wouldn't be Luke's problem any longer.

Accelerating, Luke turned towards the judicial center to drop off his burden. He queued into a skylane and muttered a mild oath under his breath as he noticed a wreck ahead of them. Dropping out of that lane and around several buildings he headed in a longer and less direct direction toward their destination.

Naelli was quiet in the back and Luke took a moment to glance over at the apparatus that meant so much to the criminal. It looked non-descript, black with a small screen.

"Wondering what that is?" Naelli asked.

Luke didn't answer.

"I should have used it to leave before you found me." Silence again filled the cab until Naelli spoke again. "You're tougher than I thought. That device there, it can give you anything you want. Anything. And I might just be willing to let you use it…if you let me go."

Luke still didn't speak. He kept his eyes on the skylanes, though he could have driven blindfolded and Naelli probably knew that. Most sentients knew that about Jedi.

"Look," Naelli said with a small sigh, "isn't there anything you want? I don't want to go to prison for crimes that I…well, let's just say that I don't think the government wants me for the extortion and murder they're claiming I committed."

Luke kept driving.

"Gods, man. Kriffin' Jedi patience. You're not listening to what I'm telling you. That device…it can give us both what we want. It will give me a way out of this situation and you…what do you want? Money? Power?" He shrugged in the backseat. "I guess I can't pander to you like a normal man."

Naelli quieted for a moment before expelling a breath of air. "I know what you want. You want your wife."

"What did you say?" Luke asked sharply, ignoring a tick that made his cheek jump.

"I just remembered that you were married. And didn't she die a couple of years back? I know if I were married to someone as hot as her…"

The speeder slammed to a stop, dropping under a building overhang. Darkness saturated the car and Luke watched humorously as Naelli drew in a quick breath as if realizing who he was alone with in the speeder, separated only by transparisteel. "Look, I'm sorry," Naelli quickly said, tripping over his words. "I didn't mean to disrespect your wife. Hey—I mean, I'm giving you the chance to be with her again!"

"I don't make deals," Luke said, but made no move to drive off again.

"Well, this would be a deal we could both appreciate, Master Jedi. That device there—it's worth more to me than anything I've ever had. The things I've been able to do with it…been able to amass…"

"From what I've seen you're a low-level criminal with a shabby apartment, a bookie who doesn't care if you live or die, and hundreds of creds in gambling debt. Not to mention the price on your head."

"Well, you know why I have that price on my head, don't you?" Naelli asked.

"You've said it yourself Citizen. Extor—"

"No!" Naelli cut him off. "You know those are not the reasons. I'm being framed so that the government can have my secret. You know that just as well as I do. Aren't Jedi supposed to be able to discern the truth? Am I lying?"

"I'm not playing these games with you." Luke revved the engine and headed back into traffic. "We've wasted enough time as it is."

"The key to being with your wife again is right there next to you," Naelli said. "It would be so easy. The simple touch of the screen—I've already programmed in the jump I'm planning to take—and you could have something that all your Jedi powers can't give you."

"No," Luke said. "My wife is gone. And your machine can't bring her back."

"It can't bring her back, but it could take you to her. Listen, I might as well tell you. You can't make a deal if I'm not showing all my sabacc cards. The secret—and I'm assuming they didn't tell you exactly what it was—is that my device can send you to other realities. That's how I amassed all my wealth—that 'shabby' apartment is only my front. I have more wealth than you can imagine. I've seen things—been places—do you think this is the only reality Skywalker? You, of all people, should know that it's not."

Luke was silent again, queuing into the traffic heading into the judicial center.

"Look," Naelli tried again, talking quickly, "all you have to do is let me go. You and I—we could jump this reality together. What's really keeping you here? I've certainly outworn my welcome. We could jump into another realm and you could find your wife…. She'd be there, I'm sure of it. And if not, it only takes twenty-four standard hours for this thing to recharge and we could try again. Come on, Master Skywalker. These crimes have been pinned on me, and you—you could have so much more if you just let me go."

"Your empty promises mean nothing to me." Luke's voice was strained and tired. "I'll be turning over you and the device to authorities. If what you say is true—"

"If what I say is true, how can you hand me over? I did not murder anyone. I am not an extortionist. I merely use my resources carefully."

Luke nodded slowly. "And the gambling?"

"What? You don't have a hobby? It's juvenile, but I like it. I like the chance of it all. But it never really matters, anyway. I'm usually only in one place long enough to get what I want, and then I leave."

"And the Mirialan you murdered?"

Naelli groaned. "You're not listening to me, man. I did not kill anyone. I didn't even know her, here or in any other place. It's a scam so that the government can get their hands on that machine. It's just… Let's say that I have something they want, and they're going to get it from me anyway they can."

Luke pulled to the back landing pad of CSF headquarters. A door opened and two armed droids exited. "If that was true you would have left here before now. Hold your hands out and prepare to exit the vehicle," he said, breaking a long silence.

"You mean you don't even want to think about my offer?" Naelli exclaimed.

Luke didn't answer, but exited the speeder. The back door was opened and Naelli was taken out, the droids searching him for weapons. Luke drew up his hood and watched.

"Any other items taken from his person?" One of the silver droids asked Luke.

"Yes," Luke said, watching as the hopeful look on Naelli's face crumpled. "But I'll enter it into evidence."

"As you wish," the droids monotoned and turned to march Naelli into the building.

"Hey, Skywalker," Naelli yelled. "What about my offer? Don't you want to—"

The doors to the security center closed on his words. Luke reached into the speeder to pick up the item Naelli seemed to believe was so highly prized by the heads of the GFFA. He passed it from hand to hand before turning to walk it into the CSF evidence room.


	2. Chapter 2

_I want to thank everyone for giving my story a chance! _

**LynnO.o: **I think you'll find out a bit more about the device in this chapter... I hope to keep your curiosity peaked with this update! Thanks for peeking in!

**EmeraldEyedJedi: **Thanks! A bad feeling? Why indeed? ;)

**Ellaisintheair: **Thank you so much. I'm so glad that you felt Luke was done well. I love his character and hope to do him justice.

**JediMara77: **Awww, thanks, lady!

**aka shellybean: **Thanks! I'm glad the start offered a hook. I hope chapter 2 does, as well!

**21skygirl: **I stopped reading profic after _The Swarm War_ so I know just what you mean. I hope you will enjoy my take on post LOTF. Thanks!

**CHAPTER 2**

The lights in the evidence room were bright as Luke stepped in. He went to the center console to enter the information on Naelli and sat on the stool to start the system.

He pulled up an evidence record and began to enter information—time of arrest, weapons on the individual, personal items. Luke filled in all the required fields before finally looking down at the device Naelli had carried. He picked it up from the console where he had placed it and held it up to get a closer look, now that he was alone.

From a distance it was a non-descript object, black and sleek, small enough to fit the average human hand. There was a small screen that was dark and seemingly little else until the object was held to closer inspection. There was small and intricate lettering, the same color as the device itself, below the screen.

"Maybe Threepio would understand this," he muttered. He filled in a description of the item and tagged it with an evidence ID number. He also made a note that he had been in possession of the item since taking it from Naelli at the time of arrest.

Ready to submit the form, he looked once more at the tiny device that had made Naelli so anxious. He had claimed the GFFA was arresting him on falsified charges, but to Luke the evidence had looked fairly clear. Besides, his job was only to arrest the citizen, not to pass judgment, though this was a far step from being a guardian of peace and justice.

But a few things Naelli had said were sticking with him, and that's why he had not submitted his evidence document yet. Naelli had asked him if he could discern if he were lying and as much as Luke hated to admit it, he couldn't say that Naelli had been. The man's sense in the Force had been free of deception, though Luke knew that delusional people often seemed the most sincere.

And then, there was Mara. _The key to being with your wife again is right there next to you, _Naelli had said. What if he were right? What if the key to seeing Mara again was as simple as the mere touch of a screen?

The thumb of his mechanical hand hovered over the dark screen for a long moment as he let Naelli's words echo through his mind.

Seeing Mara.

Being with Mara again.

"Another universe," Luke whispered. "What did you mean, Naelli?" He had some experience with beings from other dimensions, but none that he particularly cared to remember. And no answer was forthcoming to his question. Even the Force was silent. The briefing from the CSF agents had mentioned that Naelli would use the device to escape, but they had made it sound more like a teleportation apparatus than something as spectacular as a device that could carry you to an alternate universe.

Luke moved his thumb away from the screen and set the machine down on the desk. He looked at the evidence record before him, ready to be submitted. But still, he didn't move or take action to submit it. He didn't like being lied to and he wondered if the government—specifically Chief of State Daala—really were in this for Naelli's machine.

His eyes strayed to the small machine again just as his comlink beeped. He pulled it from his pocket and answered.

"Dad," Ben said by way of greeting, his voice tinny and far away.

"Hi, son. Are you on your way back to Coruscant?"

"No," Ben answered. "I'm heading to Adumar, there's a disturbance in a settlement there."

"Oh," Luke said, his stomach dropping. Ben always seemed to be going from one mission to the next, never coming home. Luke was beginning to wonder if Ben didn't want to come home because he loved being a Jedi Knight, or if it was because he didn't want to be around his father. "What's going on? Anything I need to be aware of or help you with?"

"I don't need a babysitter, if that's what you mean," Ben retorted defensively.

"You sound like your mother," Luke remarked, trying and failing to chuckle at the statement.

The silence on the comm was deafening and for a moment he wondered if the call had been disconnected. "Are you—"

"I'm here," Ben said, before he could finish. "Look, Dad, I just wanted to let you know where I was going to be. I'll see you."

"Wait, son, don't hang up," Luke said. His voice sounded desperate, even to himself. "Ben, I…" He trailed off; there was too much to say but no adequate words would come. "May the Force be with you," he said, finally.

"Sure," Ben said, and again there was silence. Luke knew they had been disconnected for real this time. He let out a sigh, holding his hand to his forehead in defeat. His relationship with Ben was strained and had been so since Mara had died. Since before then, if he were honest with himself. All of the issues with Jacen and Ben's fear of the Force had served to drive a wedge between him and his only son.

It was ironic that he would have this kind of broken relationship with his son when all he had wanted as a young man was to have a relationship with his own father. He had fleeting moments with Anakin, and had carried those moments in his heart. He'd been sure that would be the kind of father to his children that his own father had never had the chance to be.

But things hadn't worked out in that manner. The chaos in the galaxy and the turmoil at home denied that kind of relationship to him and to Ben. It was rare for Ben to be home and even when he was, there was always distance between them. Sometimes Ben would flash him a look full of anger and hurt that would make Luke's stomach drop. It was the same look that had once graced Mara's face after she learned of his failure at Byss.

She had tried to hide those emotions from him, but in less guarded moments he had seen the look on her face, and had been ashamed. After they had bonded in the Force he'd felt her conflicted feelings about what had happened between him and the reborn Emperor. But even then they had not discussed it, letting the power of their bond speak the words they couldn't say. He had no such luxury with Ben, and their relationship suffered for it.

If only Mara were still alive, still the center of their family. She and Ben were so similar: tough yet vulnerable, and quick of wit. Luke had prided himself on being able to keep up with Mara, but found it more difficult to keep up with his son, especially now that he seemed to have inherited his mother's ability to build up walls and keep Luke out.

The evidence document in front of him chimed, a pop-up window warning that the document was not yet saved to the system. Luke pressed the screen to allow him more time, and again picked up the device that Naelli had claimed could do such fantastic things. Could he really see Mara again? Maybe not his Mara, but a Mara… Any Mara. Luke closed his eyes and pictured his wife, not as she had looked on the last day he saw her, but how she had looked when they married, so strong and capable, beautiful and fit. Could she still be out there somewhere, perhaps even as alone as he was? Naelli had claimed that the device could jump to innumerable universes. Would she be married to him in these other universes? Or could there be universes where they had never met, never loved or married?

He tried to imagine a Mara without him, a Mara who didn't know his love, and wondered what it would be like to find her, to see her again, even if she was not exactly his wife.

Ben didn't need him. That thought ran constantly through his head. But maybe Mara did.

And he was selfish enough to admit that he needed Mara. He missed her more and more each day, the ache in his heart growing deeper as each day passed. The giant hole she had left in his life and heart was no closer to mending today than it had been in the long days after her death. If time healed all wounds he would need more time than the galaxy had to offer to heal this one.

Besides, his selfish desires couldn't be helped. He couldn't use this device. He couldn't leave his universe and son behind for…what? A vast unknown, on only the word of a criminal and, perhaps, a murderer?

The idea of a Mara out there in that vast unknown was intriguing, however. A Mara untouched by the Emperor's long reach, perhaps, or a Mara who had never left behind the life of a Master Trader. The possibilities seemed endless.

He began to type extraneous details into the document, his mind elsewhere. The door behind him opened and the security droids from the landing pad entered. He turned in his seat. "Yes?"

"Master Skywalker, have you entered the prisoner's personal effects into the system?"

"I'm finishing that now." He pushed down the guilt over the thoughts that had just plagued him.

"Word has come from the Executive branch and the Chief of State herself that the item on Citizen Naelli's person is too dangerous to be stored here. She asks that you personally guard it at the Jedi Temple."

The Force swirled around him at the droid's words, but he let none of it show on his face. "Should I finish with the report?"

"Yes, a report must be submitted for each item, Master," the second droid said. "And here is an evidence bag so that we can ascertain chain of command."

Luke placed the device in the bag and sealed it, listening as the vacuum seal hissed closed. His foolish thoughts of Mara and what she may be doing in other realities disappeared with the sound. Finishing his report, he nodded to the droids and signed the evidence out. Then he headed home with the device heavy in his hand.

.

.

Heading out of CSF headquarters, Luke stepped onto the darkness of an empty skywalk. It was too late to go to the Temple tonight, but he would meet with the Master's Council in the morning to discuss guarding the item. The Temple was equipped for such an assignment, though it seemed somewhat strange that the government would not have its own vault to hold such an item. Upon hearing Daala's orders, the Force had given him a faint sense of something that he couldn't yet understand. It was not a sense of fear or dread but more of a sense of change, and he wasn't quite sure what that meant.

Once home, he stowed the device in his personal safe and took a shower. He grabbed a quick instameal and ate it automatically, not really tasting any flavor or deriving any enjoyment from the act.

The act. That was the rub. That's what he felt his life was now, an act. He had known that he was depressed after Mara had died, and that he had acted rashly, skirting the Dark Side in the process. He had also known what Mara would have said and done to him had she been there. She would have been furious, but then, part of him was furious with her.

As much as they had been through together and as much as they had meant to one another, she had left him in the middle of the night with barely a note. He had thought they were past that, beyond her leaving him with little explanation.

_Gone hunting for a few days. Don't be mad at me, farmboy…_

But he was mad at her. Part of him was, anyway. The other part of him could see why she had done what she did, could see how her past had driven her to react in the way she had to the threat to their son. He could understand why she had done it.

That understanding didn't stop him from hurting.

Everyone kept telling him that it would get better, that time would ease his broken heart. It hadn't happened that way, though. The pain had not dulled, much less faded. He was no stranger to death or loss, but the loss of Mara completely eclipsed any other loss he had faced. She had been so much a part of him, his other half. Every thought, every glance, every touch between them had been electric, their bond magnifying their intense love and attraction.

He couldn't think of seeing anyone else, even if Leia, well-meaning and loving Leia, had tried to suggest the idea. He had been harsh in his answer, asking her to imagine Han dead and her dating another man, and she finally dropped the idea. But it wasn't just Leia. One of the older Jedi adepts on Ossus, Leniya, had taken to sitting with him at meals in the cafeteria, and though she had a lovely smile and a sweet personality, she wasn't for him. He was married to Mara still, and continued to wear his wedding band. Only now her band rested right next to his as he wore it on his smallest finger. When he pledged his life to her, he had meant it. Their vows had said they would be together until death parted them. He had always imagined that they would go out together, had even thought that perhaps the bond would not allow one to live if the other died.

He finally left Ossus for Coruscant, feeling at home on neither planet. Home had been with Mara, and that was now lost to him completely.

Finishing his bland meal, he tossed the container in the trash and headed into the bedroom, flopping down onto the bed, not bothering to change into night clothes or to take off his utility belt. He stared up at the ceiling, trying hard not to think about the small machine in his safe. He let his eyes drift over the nonsense pattern in the paint on the ceiling, so different here in this apartment than the ceiling in the Temple had been.

Mara had never been in this apartment.

They had lived in a suite at the Temple before she had died, and had kept a suite on Ossus as well. But he couldn't bring himself to stay at either after her death. He bought a new apartment on Coruscant when he'd returned there permanently after her death, moving from the Temple. Even though he was at the Temple most of the time he was on planet, at night he preferred to go back to his apartment alone. It was small and just right for him, though he kept the second bedroom ready for Ben. The _Shadow_ was really more of his home. Mara's spirit seemed almost palpable there. When he was on her ship it was almost as if he could turn fast enough and catch her turning around a corner, the red tail of her braid following after her.

Swinging up on the side of the bed, he went to the closet and pulled out a duffle bag, searching through it until he found a small package in the bottom of the bag. He pulled it out and returned to the bed, carefully unwrapping the precious item and setting it down next to him. It was a braid of Mara's hair, her beautiful hair, so unique. Red hair was common enough in the galaxy, but not this hair, shot through as it was with golden strands. Even when he had first seen Mara, all those years ago back on Myrkr, the golden flame of her hair had mesmerized him. He had snagged this braid when she'd once cut her hair, before the Vong had invaded the galaxy and she had become sick.

If Mara were there she would have laughed at him or called him maudlin for lying in the bed staring at a piece of her hair. They had once caught a program on the HoloNet about an ancient queen who had mourned her husband's passing and had drank of his cremated remains, wanting to have a part of him always inside of her. Mara had laughed and snorted, saying that surely the queen had only expelled out her husband within the next few days. But Luke had claimed the action romantic and bittersweet. Mara had rolled her eyes at him, but smiled indulgently. Then they laughed about it together, hopeful that neither of them would ever face that sort of situation. And if they did, Mara had said at the time, please don't drink my ashes.

The thought of that still made him smile. Even if he had wanted to drink her ashes, her body had disappeared and all that was left of her was this small bit of her hair, the hair he had run his fingers through and caressed. Ben had her hair, and sometimes complained about it, buzzing it down short so that it didn't seem as vibrantly red.

Even if they were not close, it was a comfort to him to know that a part of Mara was still out there in the galaxy. Ben was so like her. That thought should have given him comfort, but it almost pained him instead. Because Ben, being so like his mother, especially knew how to cut him out of his life. He had to admit that it hurt, but he knew that it was mostly his fault. It just seemed there was no way to fix the situation, especially without Mara, who understood Ben in a way that he could not.

Again, his thoughts strayed to Naelli's device in the safe. Would it really lead him to Mara? Of course, she wouldn't be _his_ Mara…

Eyeing the safe, he again got out of the bed and walked to it, palming it open to retrieve the item. Clutching Mara's hair in one hand and the bagged device in the other, he walked out into the common room and sat on the couch, looking at both.

The machine was dark and silent, and Luke realized that he didn't even know how to use the item, even if he did want to jump dimensions. He pulled open the sealed bag, squashing a niggle of regret at breaking the chain of command, but he wanted a closer look at it. He ran his fingers over the smooth edges. Naelli had given him no real instruction and there certainly wasn't a guidebook. He let his mind backtrack over the talk with Naelli and realized that all he had really said was that the device needed twenty-four standard hours to recharge between each jump and that he had already programmed in his next jump. He wondered where the con artist had obtained such a powerful instrument, and remembered Naelli's fervent words that he had not murdered the woman he was accused of murdering, and that the government merely wanted this device.

But if the government did want the device, then why did Daala ask Luke to keep it in his possession? In fact, by sending the device for safe keeping by the Jedi, Daala was insuring that no one would be able to look at it or use it. As the guardians of the item, the Jedi wouldn't let it fall into unstable hands.

Unstable hands. He smiled wryly to himself and looked down at his own hands, one holding the mysterious machine and the other a lock of his dead wife's hair. He was sure there was a joke there, but couldn't quite come up with the punch line. He lifted Mara's hair to his mouth and kissed it, and in that moment the Force shifted around him, moving him into a dreamlike state that he had experienced many times before. It was a vision. He saw Mara, looking as beautiful and alive as she had the last time he saw her. She was right in front of him, her eyes so clear and green. She seemed to look into his very soul as she said, "Doubt will only hold you back…"

Serenity flowed around him with those words and he felt a smile lift his lips in response. She'd always known just what to say to him, how to cut through the layers to find the simple truth he could have easily missed. He basked in the presence of her, so real…

The vision began to swim around him. Mara faded into darkness and he reached out a hand to her. "No!" He fought and tried to keep the vision corporeal, but it was gone and he was alone again on his couch, shaken. He shook his head to clear it, wondering at what he had just witnessed. Was this the Will of the Force? He had, after all, the means to see Mara again. The vision seemed to push him in that direction, the Force swirling around him frantically. It would only be for twenty-four hours. And to be in her presence again would surely apply a balm to his broken soul.

The Force always seemed to lead him in her direction, but he felt a flash of guilt as he thought of their son, so far away. But he would be back before Ben even realized he was gone, and that made the idea easier to bear. He looked at the innocuous device in his hand a feeling of nervous excitement broke out over his skin as he made a decision.

Thumbing the device on, he took a moment to look at the strange letters and code that flashed on the screen. He wondered where Naelli's programmed jump would take him but at that moment, with the Force vision fresh in his mind, any place seemed good enough.

Taking a deep breath and centering himself with the Force, he pressed the screen and waited to see what would happen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Demendora: **I hope to see Luke's adorable smile again, too. You're so right, he deserves so much more than this. That's exactly how I felt post-_Sacrifice_. Thank you so much for reading!

**Rarobin:** Thank you so much for the lovely compliment. That really means so much to me as I've put a lot into this fic. I am such a Luke fan and I want nothing for him but happiness and love. I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter, too!

**EmeraldEyedJedi:** hahaha, I did! I'm wondering what you'll think of the ending of THIS chapter... Thanks!

**Ellaisintheair:** It made me sad to write it. I'm so glad you're hooked and enjoying. Thanks much!

**LynnO.o: **You'll find out if Mara's on the other end in this chapter! I'm sorry for making you sad. I hope the rest of the fic will make up for it. Thank you!

**Salanderjade: **Thank you so, so much. I love your 'heart-whole' comment and hope to bring that to Luke through the course of this fic.

**CHAPTER 3**

He felt a strange tug at his body, in his body, but didn't move. He merely blinked and then looked around. He was standing in the middle of a room, a room that looked very much like the living room he had just left. He reached out with the Force but didn't feel anyone close. The apartment felt unoccupied and cold.

The furniture around him was different, as were the family holos staring at him from the walls. But he was pretty sure it was the same apartment he had just left, as the layout and view from the window were the same. He was on Coruscant then, but was he on _his_ Coruscant?

He quickly exited the door to the landing pad and jumped up to the next level skywalk. He wandered down the long corridor before stopping to lean against the wall to look at Naelli's machine. It was dark again, the screen blank. He turned it on and noticed a different set of numbers and code, and fervently hoped that was the code back to where he had come. He now had twenty-four hours in this strange but familiar place. Ben's face suddenly came to mind but he pushed it away, knowing that he would be back home to his son soon.

Besides, Ben was on Adumar, and assuming time worked the same in the parallel universe he now presumably occupied, he could make his way back in a few days. Maybe he would treat this as a vacation from his responsibilities. He hadn't taken a vacation in years, though he and Mara always kidded about bringing Ben to the place they had honeymooned and showing him the breathtaking sunset over the crystal clear water. To finally take the time they deserved to be a family, to eat in restaurants and collect shells on the beach. Luke closed his eyes and sighed.

The idea of Mara on a beach collecting shells was so silly, yet it made his heart ache to think that it would never happen. That it had never happened. They had spent their lives moving from one tragedy to the next and it seemed that their son was destined to do the same.

Shaking himself from his reverie, he continued down the corridor and found the exit doorway to the skyramp that connected to shops and clubs in the district. It was late at night, actually almost early morning, and everything seemed the same on Coruscant. The deli he often ate lunch at, two levels down, was there, and as he walked by he saw the night clerk cleaning up. The kid looked familiar, and Luke began to wonder again if he had actually jumped universes or not. Hesitantly, he cast out with the Force, and realized that he couldn't discern Ben's presence. The familiar bond that had been in place since he was born was dormant, and not in the way it was when Ben was mad at him and threw up his emotional shields. It was as if … as if Ben weren't here.

Surer now that he actually was in another reality, Luke pushed away the ache that the loss of Ben engendered. He would go home to him, but even if he didn't, Ben would be fine. In fact, maybe his son would flourish more without him than under his clipped tutelage.

In the meantime, he needed to learn more about where he was and who he was here. If he even existed here, and if Mara existed here. He jumped another level and landed outside of a noisy bar. The flashing lights made Coruscant seem almost itself again, though the signs of Vong reshaping were visible—the loss of the Manarai mountains a noticeable scar in the distance. Mara had often stared off toward the mountains as she sipped her morning coffee in their home on Coruscant, before the war. He could still picture her standing there, the light igniting her hair and giving her a glow of youth and vitality.

Mara. Just the thought that she might be alive here, somewhere in this galaxy, took his breath away. To think that she was living and breathing, vital and full of life, not cold and stiff as she had been when he kissed her one last time in the morgue when he had gone to identify her body…it brought him to the brink of tears and he blinked harshly, fighting to bring his emotional reaction under control.

Ideally he could go to the Jedi Temple to find the information he craved, but he didn't know his status in the galaxy and didn't want to show up and confuse any Jedi who might think that Master Skywalker had just retired to his rooms for the night. That is, if here in this galaxy he was even a Jedi at all. Maybe he was a moisture farmer on Tatooine still, or perhaps his father had never been lured to the Dark Side and he and his mother lived. The possibilities were endless, and he grew excited in the face of them. He realized that he needed to get to a HoloNet station to look up a few things.

.

.

As he slipped into the library, he began to wish that Artoo were with him. He had left him with Ben, knowing the droid would look after his son. He trusted the little droid far more than most people he had ever known in his life. If Artoo were with him he could have plugged in to a jack and found the information he needed within moments. He actually smiled to wonder if there were another R2-D2 droid in this galaxy. He hoped so.

Unsure as to Luke Skywalker's status in this parallel dimension, he had erected a force disguise, rolling his eyes at the small voice in his mind that criticized him using the Force too recklessly. That small voice sounded a lot like Mara, and it was a comfort as much as it was an annoyance at times. Sometimes you just had to use the Force and this was one of those times.

He had chosen Coruscant University's library because it was always open, catering to students who kept odd schedules. He signed in at the front desk and got a temporary HoloNet password after filling out some paperwork with a fake name and address. He logged into the system and typed MARA JADE into the search engine.

Before he could even register what he was seeing the results were in front of him, images of Mara and entries that contained her name. As the HoloNet could be full of fiction and out-right lies, he chose the entry from the Coruscant Encyclopedia and began to read.

.

.

He left the library in a daze, unsure as to what to do next. He was disoriented and tired, mind racing with all that he had learned from the HoloNet, of all the similarities and differences in this new galaxy .

And he couldn't help but think he didn't belong here.

But he couldn't force himself to go back. He had proof now that Mara was here, that she lived mainly on Coruscant, and that… that she had loved him, had been married to him. Well, to his double. She was the mother of two children… two! He remembered how scared Mara had been when she had first become sick, that they had missed their chance to have children and how happy they were when Ben was born and Mara had regained her health.

And now here, in this time and place, his Mara had two children… not his, not really, and he didn't know what to think or how to process it all. So he just kept walking, not really paying attention but knowing that he was heading for the Jedi Temple on Coruscant that shone as brightly in the late evening lights as Yavin had in the jungle moon's sky.

The back of the Temple loomed in front of him, the transparisteel outer casing glowing with the dim inner eternal light that was never extinguished. He stood in front of it and watched as a lone figure descended the stairway that led from the private suites. The Force roared around him, heightening his senses and allowing him to see her clearly, as if he were closer than he was. Her red hair was pulled back into a loose pony-tail and she wore a Jedi robe and to Luke's eyes she was the most beautiful and breathtaking sight he had ever witnessed.

Mara Jade Skywalker was in front of him, and he had absolutely no idea what to do about it.

.

.

Breathing hard as if he had just been over-exerting himself, Luke watched as Mara continued down the stairs and onto a walkway one level up from where he stood. She kept walking and he grew frantic when he couldn't see her any longer, as she melded into a crowd and overshot his view. He Force jumped again, landing on the upper level, ignoring the looks of the crowd around him as he moved after Mara, her red hair a beacon even in the artificial lights of Coruscant's night.

He trailed after her, being careful to stay far enough back, remembering Mara's constant ribbing of just how unsubtle he could be. He had to be careful now because he didn't want to startle her, but it took all of his willpower not to run up to her and hug her or just look at her, to drink in the sight of the woman he still missed so much.

Mara was a dream in motion, and he found himself in a surreal sort of awe to just see her moving, walking. He remembered seeing her so unnaturally still and quiet in the morgue and how painful that had been. Mara had always been the most alive person he had ever known, so full of passion and fire and to see her cold and lifeless had been a punch in his gut.

He watched as she stopped at a small diner. He frowned, unable to go in or risk being caught. He stood next to a locked vendor cart and tried to look inconspicuous, checking that his Force disguise was still in place. He figured she must be getting a late dinner and wondered where the children were and why they weren't with her. After long, almost unbearable moments, she exited the shop again, and Luke let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. She carried a bag of takeout with her, and headed back in the direction of the Temple.

Knowing that it was wrong and childish of him, he followed her again, unable to take his eyes from her, even as he took care to deflect the interest of the throngs of sentients around him. His tunnel vision had landed him in trouble before and he didn't want or need that to happen now, not when things were starting to look up for him again.

He trailed after her all the way back to the stairway he had first seen her on mere minutes before. His heart pounded and stomach clenched with loss as she went inside and left him alone again on the skywalk. It suddenly seemed quiet around him, even though the same never-ending traffic zoomed past and the crowds of people were as loud as ever. Unsure of what to do now, or where to go, he took an involuntary step forward, loathe to leave the Temple –and Mara- behind.

"Who are you?" a crisp voice demanded near his ear, startling him. His heart pounded furiously at the sound of the voice.

Mara's voice.

He tried to turn, but felt something hard jam between his ribs. "I asked you a question," she growled, standing close to him to disguise the blaster she now held on him. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the familiarity of the situation. "I want to know why you were following me."

"I… Mara," he said, dropping his Force disguise. "I didn't want to tell you this way…" Wagering that she wouldn't pull the trigger, he pulled away roughly and turned on her, breathing in sharply at the sight of her, so achingly close.

But there was no welcome in the narrowed green eyes that stared at him. And he didn't have time to move as her fist smashed into his face, knocking him back onto the sidewalk.

Holding a hand to his bleeding nose, a huge grin broke out across his face in spite of himself. "Gods, Mara," he said, looking up at her. "I've missed you."

.

.

She waved him into a chair at blaster point. She had spoken to him gruffly as she lead him in, telling him that she was taking him to her suite of rooms to keep from causing a commotion in the Temple proper with his appearance. Once in the suite he couldn't stop himself from looking around in awe, even as he held a handkerchief to his nose. This was the same suite he and his Mara had occupied in the Temple, but it was so different here, with holos of Mara's two children adorning the walls. The furniture was as practical and comfortable as it had been in his residence with Mara, but it all looked new, and different. They had made do with what furniture they could find in the aftermath of the war, but it looked as if this Mara had time to pick out pieces that she liked, and had time to make their suite into a home.

His eyes lingered on the holo closest to him, of the children, though he could hardly say they were kids any longer. The boy, Ben, looked to be the age of his own Ben, and his heart gave a tug at just how much this child looked like his. The same red hair, Mara's hair, and bright blue eyes. But he looked happier, and was smiling in the holo, his arm clutched around his sister.

Sister. A daughter. Reading about her on the HoloNet, Luke could almost understand just how his father had felt when he had learned of Leia's heritage. The reality of this child was amazing and so unexpected. He had known, of course, that each of these realities could take a different path, and that things could be so drastically different, but he had expected something along the lines of he and Mara not being together or that the Empire had never fallen. He had not taken the time to think about other children, and his heart tugged to see this woman who looked so like him, with her cleft chin and blonde hair. She was beautiful and somewhat older than Ben and he found himself wondering about her. All he'd read on the HoloNet only that her name was Betrys and that she was a Jedi Knight.

"Who are you?" Mara's voice cut into his musings and he swung his attention back to her, dropping his hand from his face. The bleeding had stopped, but his nose was still tender and he suspected it would bruise. Still, he was unable to stop another smile from spreading across his face. She looked so much as she had before and so alive that it made his heart throb with happiness.

He felt her probe the edges of his Force sense and opened it completely to her, not wishing to hide anything from her. "Mara, my name is Luke Skywalker. I'm not your husband, but I am Luke."

Mara's lips pressed together tightly. "You're not Luke Skywalker and quite frankly I'm getting sick of people pretending to be him. He's dead and he's not coming back."

Luke looked into her eyes and saw the pain there, mostly hidden by the anger she was projecting at him. He understood all too well how she felt. "I know he's dead… I read it on the HoloNet. But like I said, I'm not claiming to actually be him, well, from a certain point of view. But I am Luke Skywalker…and I can prove it to you."

Fingers turning white about the handle of her blaster, Mara let out a huff of unamused laughter. "Let me guess. You want to show me your bionic hand or you want to tell me just how you felt when Darth Vader told you he was your father. Save it, I've heard it all before."

He wondered what she meant about that, but didn't waste time with the thought. "Look, can't you feel me, Mara? You have to feel that my presence in the Force is like your husband's…"

"You are nothing like my husband!"

Luke raised a hand in a time out gesture. "I didn't mean, that… look, just … my mental shields are down. Look into my mind, and you'll see what I am Luke Skywalker. My wife was Mara Jade Skywalker. It will sound completely crazy, but after all we've been through together, I trust that you will hear me out. I'm from a parallel reality."

"That's a new one," Mara growled after a beat. "I'll give you points for originality. But again, I want to know what you want. Why were you following me?"

"I was following you because I wanted to see you," Luke said, swallowing hard. "I haven't seen you in so long, Mara… Please, just look into my mind. We can clear this up in a matter of moments." He looked her straight in the eye and dropped every shield, reaching to her in the Force.

"Stay out of my mind!" Mara snarled at him, and he almost grinned at the familiar refrain before he could stop himself.

"Please, Mara. I would never invade your mind—look into my mind, instead. Please," he said again, ready to beg if necessary.

After a long and terrible moment of visible hesitation, she reached out to him through the Force. He saw the blaster tremble in her hand as she looked into his memory and saw that he was telling the truth. She saw that he was Luke Skywalker and that he had been married to Mara Jade Skywalker. He let her see snapshots of their life together and to see their son, and then allowed her to feel his anguish at Mara's death, following it with the vision that had led him to her. The effort of showing her all of these things was overwhelming, the lack of their Force bond making the transfer that much harder.

That was another thing he had not thought about, the fact that he would not have a Force bond with this Mara. That bond belonged to his Mara alone, but even as he sat there watching her react to what she was viewing from him, he could feel echoes of something, as if he could feel the phantom lines of the bond that had once existed with his wife. He wondered if she could feel it, too.

He finished with showing her how he come to be in her time, using the device that he carried safely in his pocket. The weight of it pressed heavy against his thigh, a reminder that this was not his Mara or his life, and that there was another place where he belonged.

Mara drew in a shaky breath and looked at him, but her eyes were still narrowed and hard. "The question doesn't change, Grand Master Skywalker. What do you want from me?"

"I don't… I missed you, Mara-"

"You missed me?" Her voice was laced with incredulity and she looked at him as if he had grown another head.

"Yes, and I know that we're not… I know that I'm not your husband, but-"

She cut him off again. "You're right. You're not my husband and you never will be."

Her eyes were wet now, damp with tears, and Luke's stomach plunged at the look of anger and betrayal there.

"Why are you here? Your wife is dead. You should have gotten over her, not come here to remind me of all that I don't have. Can't have. My husband is dead and has been gone for thirteen years. And now you're here, wearing his face…" She trailed off when her voice broke, looking away from him.

Luke jumped up from his chair, completely undone, as always, by her rare tears. He tried to move to her, to touch her, but she jerked away.

"Don't touch me," she hissed. She looked up at him, her eyes bright and damp but still hard. "What did you think was going to happen? Did you think you would show up here and I would jump into your arms and we would have some kind of happily ever after that you feel you've been denied?"

Luke had no answer for her, and just looked at her, swallowing hard, knowing she was right.

"If you truly are who you say you are then I know you're smarter than this, at least, my husband was smarter than this! He did not play so fast and loose with my emotions and would _never _have left our children. I saw Ben in your vision. Did you leave him alone in the place that you came from? What about our son, Master Skywalker?"

"Ben is sixteen, and a Jedi Knight. He's currently on a mission to Adumar. He's fine. He's so like you, Mara. Strong and resourceful, capable of things I would never be capable of."

"And our daughter? I didn't see her in the vision you showed me."

"We… Mara and I only had Ben," Luke said. Mara looked at him sharply, but didn't say anything further. She put her weapon back in her waist holster and sat down eyeing him until he sat, too.

She looked at his hand, resting on his knee. "Looks to me like you need to move on, Master Skywalker," she said, gesturing to the two bands he wore on his hand.

He had already noticed that her ring finger was bare. And her words hurt, but he was sure that was her intent. She wanted to hurt him like he was hurting her. "Maybe I don't find it as easy as you apparently have." He regretted the words almost immediately, but could do nothing to take them back.

Mara's mouth set into a straight line. "Where is it?" she asked harshly. "The device that brought you here? Where is it?"

"I have it," Luke said. "It's safe."

"Can I see it?"

Luke looked at her warily. "Why?"

"I think you know why," she answered. "You don't belong here."

He set his face, wanting to argue with her, but one look in her eyes told him that the damage was done. "You're right," he said at last, heaving a sigh. He suddenly felt ashamed at what he had done. "I don't." He pulled the device from his pocket and let her look at it. She took it after a momentary pause and examined it.

She held it gingerly, examining all sides before pressing it back into his hand. "Go back," she said.

Luke's finger hovered over the screen, and he reached out to press it.

"Wait!" Mara choked out, grabbing his ringed hand before his finger could make contact with the screen. She searched his face. "I-"

He met her gaze and their eyes locked, a moment lengthening between them until she squeezed his hand, panic in her eyes. He shook his head. "I was just going to turn it off. I can't leave, Mara… the device needs twenty-four hours to recharge."


	4. Chapter 4

**Demendora: **They are miserable without each other. That was a bond that was never meant to be broken. I really want them to feel somewhat whole again, with each other or without. It's such a delicate situation. Thank you for reading!

**Rarobin: **I hope that you'll love the conclusion to this story. I love a happy ending. I'm glad you could see the subtle shift there. I hope you'll continue to see it as the chapters pass. Thank you so much for your wonderful comments and for reading!

**Ellaisintheair: **Believe me, it gives me a headache, too! LOL I think this Mara is very similar to Luke's Mara, but you'll find out more in this chapter some of what makes her different. And I'm so glad you liked their first meeting. That was one of the first ideas for the story that came to me all those many years ago. Thank you so much!

**EmeraldEyedJedi:** I think you might be right. Now he knows that he's missing not just one Mara, but potentially two. Hopefully their time together will help him out, though... Thank you!

**Luke Skywalker fan: **I stopped reading them, too, until I picked up _Outcast_, so I totally understand. It was such a waste of Mara (and Jacen's) characters. I'm glad you enjoyed Luke and Mara's characterization. That is a wonderful compliment to me. Thank you! I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story.

**LynnO.o: **Both of them are still so sad, it breaks my heart, too. Thank you so much for reading!

.

.

_Last time Luke revealed that he'll be stuck in Mara's dimension for 24 standard hours. Let's see if Mara decks him again… I hope you'll enjoy and stay tuned for Interlude 1, "Birth", on Wednesday! _

_._

_._

**CHAPTER 4**

"Twenty-four hours!" Mara let go of his arm and jumped up from the couch.

"Yes." Luke spoke calmly, but his stomach rolled as he worried about her reaction. She had panicked when he was going to leave; he felt it through the Force and saw it in her eyes. Mara didn't like to be caught being vulnerable. And his presence did that to her, he was sure of that. As always with Mara, it was one step forward and two steps back. Some things never changed, and that thought gave him a small smile.

"And just what did you expect to do here for twenty-four hours?" Her voice was frosty cold again. She folded her arms in front of her chest and glared at him.

"I guess…I guess I hadn't really thought that far ahead."

Mara rolled her eyes as she regarded him from her towering position. "I guess some things never change."

Luke's face stretched into another small smile as she echoed his thoughts. Then silence fell between them then. He began to feel awkward, unsure of what to do or say. He ached to hold Mara in his arms, but it was clear to him now that she was not his wife nor he her husband and that wasn't going to change any time soon. "I'll go," he said, as Mara continued to perpetrate their silence. "Find a diner or walk around or something until the time is up."

He walked to the door. Before he left he turned to look at her again. He stared at her as if memorizing her features, imprinting this woman who was so full of life over the memories of Mara on an autopsy table or on her funeral pyre. She was standing in profile but turned toward him when he spoke again. "I'm sorry about your husband," he said.

"Luke being dead makes it somewhat easier on you," Mara retorted. "Imagine if you had showed up here and found him, instead of me. Would you have waited the time limit and tried again?"

Luke took a breath and thought about what she was asking. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I really don't."

She didn't say anything further and he turned to palm the door open.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Mara's voice behind him was still so unexpected and his shoulders hunched. "I'm leaving. I thought that's what you wanted."

"I didn't ask for anything in this situation, Skywalker." She sighed and some of her frustration bled out through the Force. "You can't just leave, go walking around out there or here in the Temple. Luke Skywalker is dead."

"I can use the Force to disguise myself, Mara," Luke reminded dryly. "It'll be fine. I'll hang around until the limit is up and then go back home."

"Then will you use the device again? Find another Mara? What if she's married still?"

Luke let out a puff of excess air and leaned his head against the door. "I just don't know, Mara. I didn't…I didn't really think this through." He wasn't about to mention the vision he'd had, the one that had led him to use the device in the first place. He could only imagine Mara's reaction to that.

She appraised him with a long look, and then her inner practicality seemed to take over. "Just come back in here, Skywalker. Sit down. We'll eat this cold takeout of mine and you can tell me just what the hell your thought process was to get you here."

Luke didn't meet her eyes, barely hoping to believe that she would let him spend his time there with her. "What about your kids?" he asked. "I wouldn't want to upset them."

"They're gone for the week. They went with Han and Leia's bunch to Naboo." Mara turned abruptly and headed into the sitting area to grab the forgotten bag of takeout.

He trailed after her, following her into the kitchen. She grabbed a couple of plates from the cabinet and methodically set out the food. He wondered if the mundane tasks were helping to ease her mind.

"Do they…the kids, I mean…live here with you?" He itched to help her, to do something other than stand in the doorway like a sleemo.

"Ben does, of course." Mara sat at her table and started spooning food out of the containers onto two plates. "He's only sixteen. Betrys has her own room in the same wing as the other Knights that are based on Coruscant."

Luke stepped further into the room and looked at a flimsi holograph of Betrys and Ben that was stuck to the cooler. "She's beautiful," he said, looking at Mara's daughter. She was unmistakably his—a Skywalker—but her eyes were the same dark green as Mara's and they set off her blonde hair. The sight of her sent a spasm of longing through Luke, to think that he could have been the father of a daughter, that he could have had more children with Mara.

"She is," Mara agreed. "She looks even more like yo—like him than Ben. Acts somewhat more like him, too."

She seemed more willing to talk about her children and Luke listened eagerly. She glanced up at the holo he was studying. "It's amazing how similar our Bens are," she said. "From what I saw in your memory, he's quite like my own son."

"He's very like Mara," Luke said. "A good kid. Better than I deserve."

"I feel that way about mine sometimes," Mara admitted.

She gave a pointed look to the seat across from her. He sat down and looked at the food on his plate for the first time. "My—"

"Favorite," she cut in. "Yes, I know. I was having a sentimental moment earlier tonight."

"Maybe it was the Force at work," he murmured, delighted and enchanted when Mara released a small huff of surprised laughter. She immediately coughed to cover it.

They focused on their plates then, eating for a few awkward moments. Luke was not very hungry and pushed his meal around on his plate, and noticed that Mara was doing the same. He searched for safe topics to talk about, and found himself coming back to the children. "If I can ask, how old is your daughter?"

Mara put her fork down next to her plate. "She'll be thirty-one next week. She was born in 12 ABY…on my wedding night."

"She was born on your wedding night?" Luke exclaimed, putting his own fork aside. "That's more than I can even imagine. Did you go into labor at the altar?"

"No, it was afterward. It was a small ceremony and then…well, she has father's timing," Mara said with a chuckle.

"In 12 ABY," Luke said with wonder. He thought about his own dimension and how he had been involved with Callista at that time. He had only seen Mara once that entire year, when she had come to the Academy and spoken with Callista. His heart clenched to think of what he could have had in that year. Though he had loved Callista, she hadn't been the love that he yearned for.

"What was your wedding like?" Mara asked. Luke realized that she must be relaxing if she was willing to find out more about him and his life.

"Ah, it was eventful," he answered. "Our Jedi ceremony was beautiful and the one we really felt was our actual wedding. The public ceremony was for everyone else. It was interrupted by a terrorist."

Mara's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Well, it was right after the peace accord with the Empire. I feel strange here, but I don't know how different things actually are in this…place. I assume you had a war with the Empire and—"

"Yes," Mara spoke over him. "From what I saw in your memories things are very similar in our respective galaxies. And I remember the pockets of insurrection after the peace treaty. Ours was signed in 14 ABY."

"Then you managed to achieve peace a few years before we did. We didn't broker peace until 19. Mara and I married in 20. We had…well…issues to work out."

"So it seems." Mara took his plate and put it in the recycler with hers. She watched him as he stood and placed their glasses and silverware in and closed the door, expertly turning the machine on to start a rinse cycle.

An awkward silence stretched between them again, and Luke thought about how different things would be if this Mara were his wife. How they could go into the living room and watch the holovid, his hand idly stroking her hair as they laughed over some inane comedy. Their bond would be open between them and words would be unnecessary, but they would use them anyway, genuinely interested in what the other had to say.

The awkwardness was unnerving, especially with this Mara looking so much like his own Mara had. In a way, it would be easier to have found a galaxy with a younger Mara, one where he would have expected open hostility or stilted interaction. Though he kept reminding himself that this woman was not his wife and never had been, it was so hard to look at her and to remember that.

It had grown late as they talked and the skylanes had thinned out to the nighttime flow of traffic, their bright lights dimmed through the reflective transparisteel windows. Luke suddenly felt exhausted and knew that Mara must feel the same. He didn't want to sleep away his time with her, but felt that she needed a break, a moment to be by herself and absorb his presence.

"Do you mind if I were to use your guest room?" he asked, and could see relief in her eyes.

"No, that's…fine. Let me show you to it." She led him down the hall to the room that in his universe had been Ben's. "There's a refresher…you probably know that."

"I do. Thank you, Mara." He palmed open the door and stepped inside the room. "I really am sorry that I…surprised you."

"_He _always did," she said, again echoing his earlier thought. She didn't meet his eyes as she turned to walk away.

Luke let out a loud sigh and collapsed backward onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling again just as he had back in his own apartment. He reached out with the Force and felt Mara's warm presence, so missed in his life. Hot tears gathered in his eyes, but he didn't give in to them. Instead he focused on her steady presence and the fact that when he awoke, he would at least have a little time with her before he would need to leave her again. He let go and allowed her warmth in the Force to lull him to sleep.

Sometime later he twitched in dream and turned over. Mara's presence seemed so close and his eyes fluttered open. "Mara," he murmured. He reached out with his hand, but the other side of the bed was cold and empty as it had been for several years.

His waking mind returned to reality when he heard the soft slide of the door and light spilled in from the hall, leaving bright imprints on his eyes. He blinked and felt Mara's presence move further away.

He turned over again and looked out the large transparisteel window. A small smile threaded across his face as he realized she had been watching him sleep.

She missed him, too.

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He never really fell back into a deep sleep, drifting in and out instead and counting the hours until dawn broke over the sky. He had only been in the parallel reality for seven hours and had quite a few hours left, but they both stretched out in front of him and seemed far too short. He tried to meditate, to find some direction for the vision that had inspired him to use the transportation device, but couldn't relax or find enough peace to drop into the meditative flow of the Force. He surfed the HoloNet instead and read up on the state of the galaxy. He was pleased to find that Daala was not the Chief of State in this reality, and that it was in fact still Cal Omas. He and Omas had not always seen eye to eye, but practically anyone would be preferable to Daala, who was anti-Jedi to the extreme.

The entire galaxy seemed to be in good order, no rogue Sith ruining the government for a second time. In fact, reading about the peace that had bloomed since the Vong War set Luke's heart to a kind of serenity, to know that his friends and family were flourishing here, even if their Luke Skywalker hadn't lived to see it. It was something he would want for them, to be happy.

His own heart and mind were in disarray, however. He felt there was a reason for him to be in this galaxy. Though he had assumed that he was supposed to see Mara, he was beginning to wonder if there was another reason. He felt that there was something _off_ in this galaxy, but wasn't quite sure what it could be. He resolved to ask Mara about it, but still lingered in the quiet room, almost embarrassed to venture out and face her.

He had wanted so badly to see her, but now he felt foolish and chagrined at his impetuous nature. Of course this Mara wouldn't rush into his arms or declare her love for a man who had never been her husband, and how unfair of him to impose himself on her.

After she had left the night before he had thought of his Mara, of happier times with her and Ben, before her death had ripped their family apart. After perusing the HoloNet he couldn't help but contrast how he had handled Mara's death with how she had handled Luke's, and found that he was lacking. He thought of Ben and what he must be doing on Adumar, and realized that he had a lot of making up to do with his son. Sixteen years old and a Jedi Knight, Ben hadn't the chance for a real childhood. Luke smarted with that knowledge. He wanted to make things right with his son.

But then, there was Mara. As much as his actions embarrassed him, his heart still ached for her. To be so close to her was both unnerving and intoxicating. She belonged in his life, and even just her presence in the Force was like a drink of cool water after a long trek through the Jundland Wastes. He felt alive again, energized in a way that he hadn't in so long. To know that he had only a few scant hours with her made it even more bittersweet, because there was not time to say the things he wished to say or to bask in the warmth of her presence as he would like.

But now he had only to face her and not make a further fool of himself. He didn't want to waste this gift that had been given to him.

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.

"Good morning." He walked into the kitchen to find Mara sitting at the table with a cup of caf. She nodded toward the pot and he helped himself. He sat across from her at the table.

Mara didn't speak further as she tapped at her datapad and appeared to send a message. She noticed him watching her and answered his unasked question. "Just cancelling my classes for the day. I can't take you with me, and I can't leave you here alone."

"I'd be fine," he said immediately. "I don't want to cause any disruption to your life."

Mara's right brow raised in a look he had seen from her countless times before. "_Now_ you think of that."

Luke flushed, and looked down into his mug. "What I mean is that you should go on. I'll just…watch the holovid or something. Maybe walk around."

"I'm not sure I should let you out," Mara said. "If you're anything like Luke, trouble will find you."

He grinned at her. "Mara used to say that all the time."

"She sounds very practical," Mara said, the corners of her lips turning up as they often did whenever she tried to squash a smile.

"You would know," he said. "Anyway, if I can ask you—who is in charge of the Jedi here? How are they faring in the galaxy? Are they flourishing, I guess I should ask?"

"Why wouldn't they be? And there's no one person in charge of the Jedi, we all are. We have a Council of Masters that listens to complaints and concerns. Together we make decisions on behalf of the Order."

"The council," Luke repeated. "That's a relief. I wasn't sure that the Jedi would be thriving here. Where I come from, there's been a lot of unrest. Unbalance to the Force. That's why I became Grand Master. Can I ask you…where is Jacen?"

"Jacen's with Han and Leia and the kids on Naboo," she answered, brow furrowed. "Why?"

Luke took a deep breath. He had to know. "Because my Jacen…my Jacen was Mara's murderer."

Mara drew in a breath, her shock in the Force huge. "Jacen? Jacen Solo? My nephew?"

Luke nodded. "He had fallen. He was a Sith. His death and yours…so entwined. Two of the greatest regrets of my life."

"Show me," Mara demanded, her caf forgotten as she reached out and grabbed his hand. "I can't even process this. Just show me."

Unsure if it was the right thing to do, but unable to go back now, Luke grasped her hand in his and allowed her to see into his mind, to view the rise and fall of Darth Caedus.

When it was over she snatched her hand back and looked at him, equal parts horror and pity on her face. "Jacen is a healer and Master. He's Ben's Master…but that Jacen is _not_ our Jacen."

"Thank the Force," Luke murmured.


	5. Interlude 1:  Birth

**EmeraldEyedJedi: **I think you'll find that out in the next few chapters. There was a a couple of definite points that I think set the alternate dimension on a different path. It has to be so strange for Luke to see a place so familiar, yet not. Thank you for reading!

**Ellaisintheair:** If I've done my math right Luke should be 61 in this story and Mara 59. But the whole aging process is so weird in SW that they might not seem that age in our minds. I guess people in the GFFA age like us until middle age and then they have a longer midlife period... (so that more books can be written about them. LOL!). Yes, that Mara. Trying to kick him out and then watching him sleep. She has to keep him on his toes! Thank you so much-I'm posting on Mondays to make the day more enjoyable for me, too! LOL

**Luke Skywalker Fan: **I'm glad you're enjoying Mondays, too! I would love to see this as a movie. Heck, I'd love to see a Luke and Mara cartoon movie-anything! I'm not picky! LOL Originally I had decided that Luke and Mara in the alt dimension would have more than one child, and had planned for their daughter to share her birthdate with 'our' Luke and Mara's wedding date. But then I thought it would make for more romantic tension for the two couples to share a wedding date, but I still wanted the daughter to share that date, too... so suddenly she was born on her parents wedding night. You'll find out a bit more about that in this interlude. Thank you for reading!

**LynnO.o: **You know, I didn't even think of that. She might just look at her nephew differently now, and wonder about him as Ben's Master. She has seen it in Luke's mind, after all. Very interesting... Thank you for reading!

**Endor Solo: **Excellent username! Thank you so much for peeking in! I hope that the happiness will start to show up more now. It's a bittersweet story overall, but I think there are some real highs to go with the lows.

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_Interlude One is two vignettes that detail Luke and Mara's wedding night-in both dimensions. Well, it's not THAT detailed, but still fun. ;) Both couples share a wedding date, but more than just the year of marriage was different, as you'll see in..._

**Birth**

20 ABY

Mara's lips nibbled behind his ear. He struggled to keep her in his arms and continue pressing in the security code to their room.

"Stang it," he muttered as he pressed the wrong button again, while Mara continued her sexy assault.

"You missed the osk." Her breath was hot in his ear and she pushed suggestively against him.

"Now you tell me." He went through the code again, remembering the osk this time, but still the door didn't open. He gave up as Mara's lips trailed down his throat and her nails dug lightly into his shoulder through the fabric of his jacket. "You enter the code." He moved her head to start his own line of kisses along her jawline. "I'm on my honeymoon."

"Cute," Mara returned. She tilted his head to capture his lips in a deep kiss. They stood against the doorway like that, kissing and touching until Luke started to slide the zipper down her back. She broke away from his mouth, panting lightly. "The code, Skywalker!"

"What? Oh, yeah." He stepped back to allow her to drop to her feet. He pressed the first letter in the code and Mara shook her head, moving him aside with her body to enter the code herself.

The door slid open and she gave him a feral grin, turning her back to the room and walking in, beckoning to him with a raised finger. He grinned and stepped over the threshold, a married man.

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ALT 12 ABY

"This is not how I expected to spend our wedding night, Skywalker," Mara grunted. She rose up on her elbows, gasping for breath as the contraction eased.

Luke wiped a damp cloth across her brow, removing the accumulated sweat. "Hey, don't look at me. If I'd had my way we would have been married months ago."

"Don't start with me." Mara pushed his hand away, but there was a half-smile on her lips. "I just didn't want to get married while I was still pregnant." She picked up a cup of ice chips and spooned a few into her mouth.

"Looks like we should have waited until tomorrow…" Luke grinned innocently at her, dodging a barrage of ice as it flew at him.

"Cute, Skywalker," she began, her new last name drawing out into a little scream as the next contraction ripped through her body. She pushed back against the pillows again, placing a hand on her belly and rubbing. She reached out with the Force to the unborn baby, soothing her as she had done in the past. Mara bit her lip against a smile as Luke lent his own love and support to his wife and unborn daughter. "I think," she began, expelling a gasping breath, "that _she_couldn't take your constant nagging any longer and decided to come on out so we could get married."

"Nah. She just wanted to celebrate with us." He leaned in and kissed Mara's cheek, his hand resting lightly on the swell of her stomach.

"Yeah." Her voice was thick and she cleared her throat. She grabbed his hand and squeezed. "Any minute now…" She bit off a moan of pain as the MD Droid came into the room.

"Looks like you're ready to push, Mrs. Skywalker…"

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.

The rhythmic slap of the ocean waves against the beach awakened him sometime during the night. Luke turned in bed to find Mara awake and watching him, a tiny smile on her lips. He stared into her eyes for a moment, just watching her as she watched him. Leaning in, he kissed her smile, grasping her head and threading his fingers into her hair as she opened her lips beneath his and deepened the kiss. "I thought for sure I had worn you out," he said when they finally broke apart.

Mara groaned. "I thought I told you that cheesy lines like those are not allowed in this marriage."

"I'm afraid the cheesy lines come with the package," he said, groaning when she reached down below the sheets.

"Well, if I can't have one without the other…"

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"She's… Stars, Mara, you're amazing! She's almost here!" Luke said, encouraging Mara as she pushed.

"I can feel it, Skywalker," she ground out between her teeth. "Now, shut up and let me…" She trailed off in a screaming moan.

The MD droid uttered a soothing tone. Mara just growled at it, straining forward in her stirrups, hands digging into her own thighs. Luke climbed into the bed and supported her back, allowing her to fall against him as the pain became too much for her. He kissed her temple as she gasped for breath. "You're amazing," he murmured.

The droid counted to ten and Mara reared back up, straining again, Luke's comforting presence behind her spurring her through the pain. She grunted and everything seemed to go silent for a moment as the new life came into the world.

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The sun was just lighting over the horizon as Luke exited the balcony doors and handed a cup of caf to Mara. She pulled his dress shirt closer around her and took an appreciative sip. His heart swelled to see her so carefree and beautiful, her hair blowing around her in wild curls. He had never thought he'd see her like this, Mara Jade so uninhibited and unguarded. He wanted to see her like this every morning for the rest of his life.

He had almost given up the idea of sharing his life with someone. Had almost given up the idea of walking his path beside an equal, a help-mate, a lover. The idea that he could have missed this… He snuck another look at Mara, taking in the full measure of her beauty. The love he felt for her curled tightly in his stomach, a beautiful ache.

His emotions cast out over their bond, his love meeting and melding with hers until they both gasped with the intensity. He reached out a hand and tugged her back against him, wrapping an arm around her waist as they watched the waves hit the beach. It had taken them so long to get to this point, but the journey made the outcome sweeter, their love deeper than he had ever thought possible. He held his wife in his arms and smiled.

He had never been happier.

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"She's beautiful," Luke whispered, looking at the tiny miracle in a pink blanket wrapped in Mara's arms.

Mara smiled, a true smile that revealed the tiny dimple in her left cheek. "She is."

The baby had Luke's hair, fine and baby blonde, curling in tiny wisps about her ears. She was small and delicate and smelled so sweet. She had scratched her own cheek after delivery when she'd been taken by the droid to be weighed and measured. Luke's eyes watered when he saw the mark, so upset to see an injury on his daughter so soon after her birth.

But time in her mother's arms and at her breast had soothed their daughter and now she looked at them sleepily. Her big eyes were still blue, but somehow Luke knew that they would change to the same clear green as her mother's.

"We still need a name," Mara said, also sleepy, her voice thin and quiet in the darkened hospital room.

"Well, I thought of one," he said. "It means gift…and she is a gift to me, Mara, just like you are."

"So sappy, Skywalker," she cut in, but squashed a happy smile. "What is it?"

"Betrys. Betrys Jade Skywalker," he said, running a soft finger over the baby's delicate cheek.

"Yes," Mara agreed, leaning against him, and closing her eyes. "That's her name."

Luke held his new family in his arms and smiled.

He had never been happier.


	6. Chapter 5

**Demendora: **I so agree with you! I love weddings because they are so joyous and I love happy L/M. Thank you!

**EmeraldEyedJedi: **Thank you! I do love writing (and reading!) the warm and fuzzy.

**Endor Solo: **Yes! A little bit of happiness. : ) I like to think this chapter provides that, too... Thanks!

**Morto: **My reply was so long I placed it in the comments. Thank you for reading and for your comments.

**taramidala: **ginchy does love her Luke. To distraction. LOL! Yes, he's in pain. I do feel that I've probably made him a bit more emo than necessary but I was very emo over Mara's death. But yes, you've hit it on the head, gal-he's grieving. Thanks so much, lady!

**Jedi Lover: **Thank you, girl! LOL-WYW and Taming. Taming needs to be finished! I loved WYW even though the middle of the story is very tough to handle.

**LynnO.o: **Yes! Very different wedding nights. But the love is the same. Thanks!

**Luke Skywalker Fan: **Thank you! I wasn't sure how closely to parallel so I'm glad it came out well.

**JediMara77: **My beta! Thank you SO much for all your help with this fic, girl. It wouldn't be the same without you! And from one Luke super fan to another, that is a wonderful comment. Thank you!

**Jedi Lover: **You've been reading my shine, haven't you? LOL! I do tend to make him very well endowed and toned and very good with the sexy-times. But it's fantasy and I don't think it's too far off-beat, he is very in-tune with other people's feelings. Ahem. LOL!

**Leyla: **Thank you! I am looking to give Luke a second chance. Everyone deserves one. Poor Luke goes through the wringer in fic, doesn't he? LOL

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**CHAPTER 5**

After their talk about Jacen, Luke went into the fresher to make himself a bit more presentable for the day. He also wanted to give Mara another few minutes to internalize what he had told her. Her shock in finding out that her nephew had been Mara's murderer had been immense and gut-wrenching. It brought to mind images of Mara fighting Jacen that Luke didn't want to contemplate. He once again pushed the dark thoughts into the corner of his mind.

He walked out of the fresher and stopped when he saw that Mara was speaking to someone on the HoloNet.

"…fine, Mom," Ben's voice rang out from the holocom. Luke's heart constricted in his chest at the familiar sound. "Bets is mooning over one of the Queen's guards, though."

"Is she?" Mara smirked at the receiver.

"No," a feminine voice answered. Luke's heart actually jumped a beat this time as he thought about the daughter who spoke on the other end of the comm. "I merely mentioned to Aunt Leia that he looked nice in bloodstripes."

"Hardly mooning, then." Mara rolled her eyes in a playful manner. "Anyway, give my regards to your aunt, uncle, and cousins and I'll speak with you again soon."

Luke listened as the kids said goodbye and walked further into the room when it was safe. Mara looked up at him and he realized that she had probably called to speak to her children out of a need to reassure their safety and separate herself from the reality he had told her about. He knew her well enough to know that her thoughts were probably racing, even behind her calm exterior. He longed for their Force bond, to send soothing thoughts to ease the chaotic thoughts.

It was still a surprise to him that their bond was missing. It had been such an integral part of his life with Mara. He knew that others did not understand it and thought that it would be too confining, especially for Mara. But he and Mara had derived comfort from it, pleasure in being so intimately intertwined. To be without it now made him feel almost blind to Mara, though just being near her engulfed his senses. A dichotomy to be sure.

"What are they doing on Naboo?" Luke asked.

Mara's head moved almost imperceptibly, as if she were shaking herself from her own thoughts. "Oh, Leia and Han went for a short vacation with their kids, and invited Betrys and Ben along. Leia wanted to show Allana off to Pooja, I'm sure."

Luke thought of his cousin, so recently met, and smiled to think that she and Leia were close. Allana existed in this universe, even without Jacen having been Dark. And Anakin—he was alive and thriving here, a Jedi Knight of rare caliber from what he had learned online. In fact, the only difference seemed to be that he—that Luke Skywalker—was dead. Long-dormant insecurities that he brought imbalance to the Force began to surface. He pushed them down and pulled on the Force for calm. He knew only a snapshot of this galaxy, after all, and couldn't make blanket statements about it.

He crossed to sit on the couch. "How are Leia and Han?"

"Happy. Content. In a good place, really. I never thought I'd see Han Solo as a grandfather."

Luke grinned. "It is somewhat disconcerting. I see all these grays—" he pushed a hand through his hair, but his grin dropped when he noticed Mara looking away from him. "It's surreal," he finished lamely, realizing that he must look so different than the Luke she had known, with more creases on his face and the gray hair.

"Yes, surreal."

Mara had never been one for small talk, and it seemed that hadn't changed from one universe to another. A buzzer went off on her datapad and she shot him a look, while picking it up and tapping on it to retrieve her message. "From Tionne," she said. "Let me just answer her."

He nodded but didn't let his eyes drift from her as she tapped in her answer. The sunlight spilled in through the large window, backlighting and illuminating Mara's hair. It was still a vibrant red-gold, even with the white streaks in her fringe and at her temples. He traced the familiar lines of her face with his eyes, taking the time to just watch her as she worked. It was almost a forbidden privilege to look at her this way. He knew she probably felt the weight of his gaze, but she continued to work and he continued to look at her, simply amazed to be with her again.

A lock of hair fell down into her eye and she reached up to tuck it back behind her ear. As she moved her fingers through her hair, she looked up and caught Luke's gaze. Their eyes locked, and for a moment the awkwardness between them disappeared as they stared at one another across the room. Her eyes were such a clear green, a color unlike any he had ever seen. Green eyes were common in the galaxy, but not this green. This color belonged to Mara alone, and he had been bereft at the thought of never seeing it again.

The moment lengthened until Mara blinked. She cleared her throat and turned off her datapad. "Crisis averted."

Luke wondered.

Mara tossed her datapad on the couch. "Come on," she said, getting up and walking toward the door. She gestured to the guest room with a nod of her head. "Get your belt and saber. We're going to spar."

"Spar?" Luke asked dumbly, brows raised at her.

"We can't just sit around here and sneak glances at each other for the rest of the day."

"… you've got me there. But we can't just go out into the gym. I can't be seen."

"We'll use the Masters gym. With my code, no one will bother use. Surely you and your Mara used the gym for some private practice on occasion?" Mara smirked.

"If I said we didn't?"

"Then I'd say you aren't the man I knew."

Luke chuckled as he walked down the hall. Mara did always know just what to say to him.

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Mara hadn't given him any training clothes to change into but she hadn't changed, either, still wearing her signature jumpsuit. She had pulled her hair into a ponytail and he smiled at how much younger it made her look.

He knew the answer, but couldn't help but ask anyway. "Did you disarm—"

"Who are you talking to Skywalker? Of course I disarmed the security cams." Mara rolled her eyes at him, but he thought he saw her squashing another smile. He wondered if her Luke had ever asked her the same question. He didn't have time to contemplate that for long, however. Mara struck first, her saber at one moment resting comfortably at her hip and the very next ignited in an arc over her head, heading toward him.

He dodged her thrust and body rolled back, grasping his own blade in his hand, turning it on, but not meeting hers with it yet.

She eyed him with that familiar smirk, and pointed with her blade. "Still pretty fast for an old man."

"Cute." He didn't banter back. Instead he chose to draw her out and swiped at her with his green blade. The lightsaber she used was not Anakin Skywalker's saber but one of her own making, somewhat different than the one his Mara had made after she had been Knighted. It was shorter, the handle light in her hand. But the blade was the same blue as Anakin Skywalker's. Seeing the two blades together again, sparking with friction and ozone, brought a grin to Luke's face.

"You always grin while sparring," Mara said. She parried against his thrusts, dancing forward over the floor as he moved back.

"Only with you." Luke didn't stop to see the effect his words had on her, jumping instead to land behind her to draw the fight out further.

It felt good to spar with Mara. He knew her strengths and foibles and they fought as one, even without the bond that had been such a hallmark of their marriage. As the Qom Jha had noted so long ago, he and Mara were always stronger together than apart.

They moved around the room. His muscles burned with exertion as their blades met and parted, heat thickening around their bodies. Mara backflipped out of his reach and he moved forward after her. She swung her saber up but his blade was there to meet it. He pressed her until her back was up against the padded wall of the gym. He loomed over her, catching his breath as the combined blue and green light lent an otherworldly glow to her features. She was so close that he could smell her sweat and could see the tiny lines around her eyes. He could see the sweat that dappled her skin and took note of a gold chain around her throat, following its line to the neck of her shirt, where it disappeared, along with sweat droplets.

But he knew Mara. He didn't linger in his look, anticipating the leg that shot up between them. He jumped back just in time, and used her momentary lapse of balance to disarm her.

Leaning with his hands on his knees, he took a deep breath. Mara called her saber back to her hand. She looked at him, warmth in her eyes that had been missing before. "I've missed that," she admitted.

He looked down, hot tears suddenly and unexpectedly prickling at his eyes. He had missed sparring with Mara, too. He tried to lighten the mood. "You missed being bested by the Master?"

"We'll see about that," she returned. "Unless you're too tired to go again?"

He merely grinned and held up his saber.

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"I haven't had this much fun in awhile," Luke commented as he sat down at the table across from Mara.

She picked up the vegetable wrap in front of her and took a bite. After swallowing, she favored him with a rare smile. "It was nice to have a worthy opponent again."

They had spent the afternoon sparring and now the day was lengthening toward evening. Neither wanted to think that soon Naelli's device would be recharged and Luke would be leaving. They hadn't really spoken of anything deeper than surface thoughts of their children or the way things had turned out in each of their lives, but Luke could sense that Mara was troubled over what she had seen of his galaxy. And Luke was confused about the state of hers. He still had a nagging feeling that there was something more he should be doing here, something more than nursing his broken heart.

Was it Mara and her children? When he left her alone again, what would happen to them? He tried to imagine himself never seeing this woman again, never knowing anything of Betrys or Ben. Luke's heart tugged at the thought. Even though his son probably didn't even know he was gone, he felt as if he had betrayed him by leaving him behind.

"Not hungry?"

Luke shook himself from his thoughts. "What?" He looked down at his own steak wrap, mostly untouched on his plate. "Oh, I was just…thinking. About getting home to Ben."

"Just a few more hours." She finished her sandwich and took a sip of her water. "Can we address the purple bantha in the room?"

He raised his brows expectantly. He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly as he waited for her to plow ahead.

"Why did you leave your—our—son to come here?"

Luke swallowed and put the wrap down. His cheeks heated and he stared at the lines in the wood grain of the table. "I've…it's been a struggle."

Mara nodded. "I understand."

"Do you?"

Her eyes narrowed. "My husband died thirteen years ago. When our bond snapped, I thought I would never recover. I felt like half a person…" She didn't seem willing to talk more about it, and he was honestly surprised she had said as much as she had. He didn't think she would open up this much to anyone besides her Luke.

"But," she continued, "I had my children to take care of. I had to live for them."

"How did he die?"

Mara stiffened. He expected her to get up and storm off, but she folded her hands in front of her and answered him. "I saw so much in the vision you showed me. How our relationships began so similarly and then diverged, but that you also faced the threat of the Vong. Luke was killed by Shimrra's amphistaff. I watched him die and there was not a thing I could do."

Luke blanched, and his hand unconsciously rose to the scar he still bore from the amphistaff's bite. Mara's eyes tracked his movement and she stared at the spot, almost as if trying to see through his shirt to the old wound site. He unbuttoned the front of the tunic and slipped it to the side. She gazed upon the scar, her eyes suddenly glassy.

"How did you…how did you survive?" _When my husband didn't_. She didn't say the words, but they were there, in the air around them.

"Jacen," he answered simply.

"Jacen? But how?"

"You said that the Jacen of my galaxy was not yours, and I think you're right. I have to ask—you've mentioned Anakin…did he, Jacen, Jaina and several others lead a mission to Myrkr during the Vong war, after Ben was born?"

Mara paused for a moment as if her mind were tracking back over those terrible events. "No…after Ben was born Anakin proposed leading a strike team there to destroy the Voxyn queen, but you wouldn't allow it and sent another strike team instead. You said you couldn't send such young Jedi on such an important mission, and Leia, Han and I supported you."

Luke's eyes fluttered shut for a moment as he again cursed himself for the ill-fated, if successful, mission. "I did allow the mission to Myrkr in my own time. I was against it but could come up with no alternative." He paused, not wanting to tell her the rest. "Anakin was killed, along with five other Jedi. Jacen was kidnapped and tortured…" Luke's voice broke as he thought of his nephews and what their Jedi heritage had cost them.

"Anakin, dead? Jacen, tortured?" Mara's brow creased with horror. "But how did that lead to Jacen saving you?"

"He learned things in his captivity, had his mind warped, only we didn't know the extent of it until much later. But he used one of his new abilities to wipe the venom from my system and I survived."

Mara was quiet, speaking only after a soft sigh. "Luke agonized over his decision, knowing how much Anakin wanted to lead that strike team. How he thought it was his destiny. But in the end he said he thought of Betrys, only a year and a half younger than Anakin, and of Ben, so like the baby Anakin had once been, and knew that he couldn't allow it."

"I asked myself why and doubted myself for years afterward," he said. "The fallout from that mission was vast and I would say that it is my greatest regret."

Mara's eyes were soft as she looked at him. She reached across the table and took his hand in hers. Luke trembled at the voluntary touch, such a gift to him. He squeezed her hand and they sat there, both lost in their thoughts.

.

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The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Mara showed him some holos of the children and told him a bit about them. He confessed to wishing that he could know Betrys, finding her very existence to be so life altering.

"She was her father's daughter," Mara said. "They were thick as thieves. You didn't see him without her." She paused. "She took his death very hard. She…she reminds me of the best of him. And that's my comfort." There was another silence between them, but this one was comfortable and familiar. Mara looked out over the setting sun. "It's almost time."

And it was, the lights of the night flared up again outside of the window. Luke made sure his saber was still secure to his belt, and Mara's lock of hair was still safe in his pocket. "Not much longer now." He looked out the window at the city. In moments he would be back home, and could contact Ben…

But the thought of leaving Mara was harsh. He had jumped into this universe for her, and ruefully realized the old adage was true—you couldn't go home again. For Mara had always been his home, but this Mara, as much as she was just like his own, was not her. Still, it was so hard to leave, knowing that he would never see her again, never smell that unique scent, never hear the differing tones of her voice as she spoke to him, never hold her in his arms again. Those were all things he had wrestled with when she died, and now it seemed even more poignant with her standing mere feet from him. For all the good it did him, she might still be a galaxy away.

A parallel galaxy away.

He cleared his throat, even though he knew she could feel his presence behind her. She had always said he was hard to miss, in the Force or otherwise. "It's almost time," he said. "Mara, I want to apologize, again. I'm so sorry for disrupting your life, for springing myself on you."

She turned around, teeth worrying her lower lip. "Funny. That's almost how I describe the beginning of our relationship."

Luke grinned. He reached out a hand, awkwardly letting it fall somewhat when he realized his unconscious intention. But as he realized he would never see her again, he decided to take the chance. He reached out for her arm and tugged her forward, wanting to hug her goodbye. Wanting to feel her in his arms, one last time.

She hesitated for a moment but then let herself be propelled forward, her free arm automatically wrapping up under his arm to clutch at his shoulder. His arm fell to her waist and he hugged her close, her body fitting into the hollow of his perfectly, as always. He breathed in the familiar scent of her hair and laid his temple against its softness, stroking his left hand up and down her back. He felt her shudder against him, and her fingernails dug into the cloth of his tunic and his shoulder. His eyes misted. He forced himself to calm, though, savoring the moment. When Mara died he had tried to remember the last time he held her but couldn't. He wanted this moment to last forever, a memory to keep through the long, lonely years ahead.

She pushed back in the circle of his arms and looked up at him, her own eyes bright with unshed tears. He almost hadn't expected that, knowing the tight rein Mara kept on her emotions. He opened his mouth to speak, but she put a finger to his lips to silent him. Her finger turned up at the last moment so that her thumb brushed across his lower lip.

He wanted to say her name, but the air had changed between them. He stood completely still, not wanting to break the spell that surrounded them. Mara's hand moved to his jaw and she pulled him in to her, brushing her lips across his softly. Electricity like he hadn't felt in years coursed through his veins at her kiss. He pushed her upward with the hand around her waist, while plunging his other hand into the glorious hair that beckoned him.

Mara pressed into him further, their lips moving together expertly. Luke reached into the Force and projected the love that he had felt for his Mara, and the pleasure he found in this unexpected gift. Mara met and returned the feeling, while her lips still tasted his as if she couldn't get enough.

A small beep startled them out of the embrace. Luke sighed as he pulled his comlink from his pocket, turning off the alarm he had set to warn him when his twenty-four hours were almost up. He let out a shuddering breath, and stole another kiss from Mara's swollen lips.

He grinned at her. "I missed that."

"Me too…Farmboy." She caressed his cheek. "I used to call him that. Did your Mara call you that, too?"

"Yes." Hearing the familiar nickname made warmth spread through him.

She smirked. "I wanted you to leave, but now I don't know how to say goodbye," she admitted.

"Then let's not," he said. "Twenty-four hours didn't give us a lot of time. We can just pretend this was all a beautiful dream."

"Such a romantic," she teased. She cupped his jaw to caress his face one last time.

Luke stepped back and pulled the device from his pocket and thumbed it on, looking at the code that popped up. It was different than what he had seen when he had jumped here, and could only pray that it was the way home. The way back to Ben.

He looked up at Mara and smiled, wanting to watch her until the last possible moment. She raised an expectant brow and he couldn't help but laugh at just how _Mara_ the gesture was. Preparing himself for the strange feeling and sudden burst of travel, he centered himself with the Force and pressed the screen.

Only this time, nothing happened.


	7. Chapter 6

**Ellaisintheair: **Thank you! That end scene to that chapter is one of my favorites, too. They just go so well together!

**salanderjade: **Thank you! I'm so glad that the characters are coming off well and as themselves. I have a hard time with Mara, because the fangirl in me often goes the opposite direction of what she would do. LOL But I really made an effort to make her character follow pro-fic. And I love your comments on angst. I found that it was really hard to write a 50,000 word novel without drama! But you're right. The Hero suffers but for the greater good in the end.

**EmeraldEyedJedi: **I learned evil cliffies from the best! LOL I struggled with whether she would actually kiss him or not, but I think the temptation would have been too much to bear. I think it could have gone either way, however. Thanks so much!

**Rarobin: **hee, I am trying to be sneaky! You guys have to keep with me for the next 10 chapters. LOL And thank you so much for the characterization comment. I really tried hard to get them 'right'. I hope to continue to do so for the rest of the story! Thanks!

**Luke Skywalker Fan: **Yep... Luke's stuck. We'll see for how long... I love Luke so much and that compliment makes me smile. I really want to get him right. Thank you!

**Jedi-Lover: **LOL! Girl, you know I could never do that to you (or to me). Another reader had thought that perhaps Betrys was Callista's daughter. Yep, another one I could never, ever do. Thanks for peeking in, gal!

**Fallon Skywalker: **No worries, there are 9 chapters and an epilogue left! We still have a long way to go. I feel terrible for Luke, too. That's why I wanted to write this to try to set some things 'right'. I hope I succeed in doing so. Thank you for reading!

**Endor Solo:** Yep, just a bit awkward. Until Mara's practicality kicks in. LOL Thanks and I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter!

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_Chapter 6 is one of the shorter chapters to EoA, but still important. But due to that you'll get Interlude 2: _Death_ this week on Wednesday. It actually deals with the aftermath of death and how Luke and Mara were handling life in their own dimensions prior to the beginning of the story. Thanks for reading, everyone! _

CHAPTER 6

For a moment, he stood quietly expecting to feel the strange tug that would throw him from one universe to the next. When nothing happened, he tapped the screen again, naively hoping that he had pressed in the wrong spot. Still he stayed in place, the screen on the device remaining the same, with the strange code unmoving across it.

A flush started to build in his cheeks, and he dreaded looking up at Mara. He viciously jabbed at the screen again, but still he didn't move, didn't experience a blinding flash of light or anything other than a wall of annoyance through the Force, directed at him from Mara.

"Problems?"

"Um…" He mentally cursed himself. He was the Grand Master of the Jedi, but at the moment he felt more like a toddler caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I'm not sure why it's not working."

Mara was silent, and Luke braced himself. As always, with Mara, it was one step forward and many steps back.

"Did you turn it on?" she asked sardonically, stepping close to him to look at the lighted screen.

"Very funny," he muttered, still embarrassed to be standing there when he should be home now, thinking about reuniting with Ben.

Ben! Panic shot through him then as he looked down at the device, his only gateway home. "Why didn't it work?" he asked aloud, flipping the machine over as if an answer might be imprinted there.

"I hope you're asking the tiny droid in your pocket that's going to fix this thing," Mara growled, her own face tinged red as she stood in front of him. Just moments before he had been kissing her lips, but now they were twisted on her face, her eyes above them revealing her anger. "Why are you still here? I thought this thing was going to pull you back to wherever you came from?"

"It is! I mean—I used it to get here, didn't I?"

Mara's eyes narrowed as she studied him, suddenly on her guard again.

Luke reeled back as if slapped. "Please don't doubt me, Mara. I promise you the same thing I did before—I am Luke Skywalker and this device brought me here. I just don't know why it won't send me back."

Mara's eyes bored into his intently. "I…not five minutes ago I thought I'd never see you again. And now I find that I'm stuck with you, what? Forever? I know who you are—the Force tells me it's true, and so does my heart. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. Give me that."

She took the device from his hands roughly, but then relaxed her grip as if afraid she might transport herself away if she handled it too carelessly. The screen was still lit with the strange code visible, but there was nothing else to be seen, no instruction to tell them what to do next. "What happened when you used it the first time?"

Luke explained to her about the strange pull he had felt in his body after he had pressed the device's screen for the first time, and about how he had merely blinked and found himself in an apartment at once familiar and wholly foreign to him. His apartment, but not.

"When you showed me how you came to find me, I saw that you had taken this from someone you had arrested. What did he tell you about it?"

"It was all…very vague."

Mara's brow arched. "Vague."

"He mentioned the twenty-four hour recharge to me, and how there were infinite places that we could jump to. That it was as easy as pressing the screen and leaving it all behind."

"And you wanted to do that? To leave it all behind?"

It was unspoken, but clearly there in his face, her demeanor. A question that she had put to him before. _What about your—our—son?_

"I struggled with it. I turned him down. And then later, I…" Luke trailed off and blew out a frustrated breath. He sat down on the couch, looking up at Mara as she continued to stare at Naelli's machine, eyes tracing over the simple lines of it. Somehow he wasn't ready to tell her he had ultimately used the device because of a vision. He could only imagine how well she would take that news. Mara may have become a Jedi of the highest order, but she had always shied away from the more mystical elements of the Force. A vision had led them together at Nirauan, but even that she had seemed uncomfortable with. This may be an entirely different Mara, but he had a hunch that she felt the same away about Force visions.

After a long, tense moment she handed the device back to him. "I wonder if somewhere in the infinity of time there's a Luke who chose not to push that screen."

He looked up at her, wounded, but didn't speak.

She gave her own sigh. "What am I going to do with you now, Skywalker?"

.

.

It was still early morning. Mara had retreated back to her bedroom, the closed door putting needed distance between them. Luke sat in a straight-backed chair in the spare bedroom, the machine that had caused so much friction sitting innocently on the table in front of him. If he didn't know what it was capable of he would have thought it was a datapad, but this was far more intricate and dangerous.

He had been so foolish. In his zeal to see Mara again he had given so much away, taken the easy way out. It was unseemly for a Grand Master to still be so impetuous, and yet the Force still whispered no hint of wrongness to him, no hint of imbalance or corruptness. Mara had always shied away from using the Force so indiscriminately, never using it for her own gain. He remembered how disjointed he had felt as a Jedi before Mara had given him a piece of her mind in the caves under Nirauan, and how her words, so simple and true, had helped lead him on a path in the Force that had been so right for him. The bond that had grown between them been a gift from the Force, a prize for finally seeing beyond his own nose and dialing back on the power he often used without questioning. His failure at Byss with the Reborn Emperor had forever altered the course of his life, and the path of the Jedi. Mara had helped him through that, even as he had started to come to the realization of his misuse of power on his own, she had been an impetus to change.

But then there was the Vong War and Vergere and her insistence that he himself—and all the Skywalkers—had brought imbalance to the Force. He had listened to her when he should not have, and later proclaimed that there was no Dark Side. He had been completely fooled. It had taken time to get his head on straight again, to realize that he was taking the Jedi down a dangerous path. Master Yoda had been right—the Dark Side would forever dominate your destiny.

With Mara's death had come new challenges—his immediate killing of Lumiya and the period of darkness afterward that culminated with Jacen being revealed as not only Mara's murderer but as Darth Caedus. A Sith Lord.

How did his carefree nephew become so tainted and changed? How did he go so far down that dark path as to become a Darth? Luke remembered Leia's fears before she became pregnant, discussed only once and with shame, even though he completely understood and could even somewhat relate. It hurt to see that her fears were realized through Jacen, and did not even know how she felt about one of her twin children had to kill the other.

There was so much that he blamed himself for, and the Solo children were at the top of that list. Short-term bandage solutions had been the only way to fix so many problems, a galaxy full of problems that he was ill equipped to handle. Mara told him time and again not to take it all on his shoulders, and he had learned, had let others help him and take the lead. But even still, he felt a duty to the galaxy as the last of the Old Jedi and the first of the New.

Placing a shaking hand to his temple, he regarded the lines of traffic outside the window. It was just lightening toward morning, but the vehicles still had their lights on. He watched them pass, wondering at who was in them and what their lives were like. They had their own troubles and tribulations, of course, but he liked the idea of taking a speeder and queuing in with traffic, flying far to the other side of the planet and taking a passenger freighter to a destination unknown.

The feeling was fleeting, though. He could never abandon Ben, the Jedi…or Mara. Mara, lying down the hall, undoubtedly not sleeping. He could picture her lying with one arm and hand crooked up under the pillow, supporting her head, her legs splayed slightly out and nestled under the cover. Even if she wasn't his Mara, she was still _Mara_…and his heart yearned for her. He wanted to go and slip in behind her, to lie with her and hold her, to find an answer as to how to get back home, even if the thought of leaving her still frightened him.

And that gave him pause. What if his intention was what kept him here? Could it be that he wasn't quite ready to leave Mara behind?

He nixed that thought after a moment, knowing that though his heart was heavy, it alone was not what kept him here. The device did not react to his panic the last time; he had deliberately used its power.

He felt so unbalanced here and that thought also gave him pause. He had assumed that the nagging feeling he felt was due to him being out of his own time and place, upsetting the Will of the Force. But the feeling was still there, just at the edge of his perception, and he still needed to talk to Mara about it.

Casting his eyes in the direction of Mara's room, he again sought the comforting feel of her presence in the Force. She had her shields completely up, but he could still feel her essence and basked in the warmth it provided. Somewhat refreshed, he dropped into a meditative pose and delved into the waves of the Force, seeking an answer or at least a direction in which to turn to find his way home.

.

.

"Here," Mara said later, thrusting a small bundle at him. "Those are all of his clothes that I have left."

"Oh." Luke looked down at the small bundle in his hand. He thought it strange to think that she only had a little bit of her Luke's clothing left. He had yet to go through Mara's belongings, except to pack them away in boxes and move them to storage. He planned to get around to it one day. "Thank you."

She didn't answer, settling at her holocomm station. She opened the HoloNet and typed an inquiry. Her back remained to him as she typed and he wondered what she was thinking. He figured that she was embarrassed for kissing him when she thought he was leaving forever. He felt somewhat similarly, though he had a bit more embarrassment on his side after making a mess of things and jumping into her life unexpectedly.

Her fingers continued to move over the controls and he cleared his throat, not wanting to interrupt but unsure of what to do. "Uh, Mara…would you like me to leave? I mean, since we don't know how long I'll be here—"

"Where are you going to go? You don't have any credit accounts here, Skywalker," she snapped, apparently still on edge.

"Well, that's true, but I have some creds on me."

"Enough to last you indefinitely? Just stay here. We'll reevaluate when the kids come back."

"Are we—you—going to tell them about me?" he asked, thinking of her Ben and how similar he was to his own son, and of the daughter whose existence still amazed him.

"We'll make that jump when we get there, but the short answer is probably not." She tapped at the controls a few more times and then turned in her seat. "Right. I've cancelled a few meetings and handed over my classes to other Masters. Now we have nothing but time. How are we going to get you home, Skywalker?"

Luke smiled at Mara's all-business demeanor. She really was a universal constant. "Well, I meditated, and I think I know a good place to start. Or, should I say, a good person to start with. His name is Marse Naelli, and he's the man I arrested and took this device from."


	8. Interlude 2:  Death

**Demendora: **You're so right. Luke lost his way when he lost Mara. He needs something to get him back on the right path. I guess the Force, too, works in mysterious ways. ;) Thanks!

**Jedi-Lover: **Girl, you know my m.o. too well. LOLOL! Thanks for peeping in!

**salanderjade: **You are so right! Mara is nothing if not practical. That's why I had her give Luke the clothes. And I love how you describe Luke with his 'head in the clouds'. Never his mind on where he is and what he's doing! And that's totally why she wants to kill him, I agree. I'm so glad that came off well and thank you so much for your wonderful comments. I hope that 'Death' won't be too hard to read. It should probably be titled, "After Death" since it deals with the aftermath, but I like the idea of the interludes being Birth, Death and... (spoiler) Love.

**EmeraldEyedJedi: **Your 'oh snap' made me LOL! I love it. Yes, it is embarrassing, especially after that kiss! Thank you!

**Ellaisintheair: **I agree! It makes me angry that Luke the character gets the blame for the crazy things the profic authors make him do. Stating that there is no dark side? Um, I'm not sure which movie those authors were watching, but it couldn't have been the Star Wars with Luke Skywalker that I watched! So that's what I'm trying to do... give him a blank slate to start over, well, not a blank slate but just a new feeling of purpose. Union makes me sad, too. So much hope after VOTF and then... well, meh. I'm so glad you're continuing to enjoy! I am finishing up work on chapters 14 and 15. Once they're done I will start posting 2x a week to speed things up! Thanks!

**Curtis Zidane Ziraa: **Hey, you! Thanks for popping in twice! You're so right. Luke doesn't know anything about this device. He could only hope that it would send him back. And now that it hasn't... Well, you know what they say about shavit and fans. ;)

**Endor Solo: **You know ginchy's a soft touch! And that I love Luke to distraction. LOL Thank you!

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_'Death' is set prior to the beginning of EoA and is meant to show you the mindset of both Luke and Mara before the story begins. I hope it fills in some blanks. Thanks for reading, all!_

**Death**

ALT 33 ABY

"He's asking to see you." Leia's dark eyes were concerned as she looked at Mara. "They said he's constantly asking for you, and the children."

Mara flinched almost invisibly, but set her mouth and shook her head. "Luke is dead, Leia. I watched his body disappear. All that was left was his hand and clothing. He's dead."

"I know," Leia soothed. She sat down next to Mara. "But this one…he seems to know so much about us, about Luke…"

"He read it on the HoloNet."

"Some of the things, though, about our father and our time in the Rebellion, seem so real. I guess I'm just projecting my own hope onto him."

Han entered the room with three glasses. He handed them to the women as he sat across from them. "We're just wasting our time going to see this lunatic," he said, his face dark.

Mara nodded in agreement and took a drink, smirking at Han when she finished her swallow. "Whyren's. Thanks. I needed that."

He gave her his infamous lopsided grin. "I think we all do, sister. I'm getting real tired of all these Luke wannabes showing up claiming to be the Kid."

.

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42 ABY

"Ben?" Luke asked through the door of Ben's room, knocking on it lightly. "Everything okay in there?"

"Leave me alone."

Luke heaved a sigh. Ben had just returned from an extended mission. He'd been livid to find that Luke moved them from the Temple to an apartment in another district. They fought and Ben retreated to his room. "I'm sorry that I didn't discuss moving with you. I just… Ben, I couldn't stay there any longer."

The room remained silent. He tried to reach out to his son through the Force, but as usual Ben was hiding his presence. After a long moment of trying, he gave up. He went into his bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the wall. Mara's murder had decimated the already fragile relationship between himself and his son. He had never expected his life to turn out like this, that he would be a widower with a distant son in a galaxy that was once again in ruins around him.

.

.

The trip to Ossus didn't take long in the _Falcon_. Ben had stayed home with Betrys, who had just celebrated her twenty-first birthday. She had been angry to hear that yet another man was claiming to be her father and refused to talk about it. She had the tendency to withdraw into herself, just like Luke had. Mara knew she would have to bully the pain out of Bets when she returned.

She wasn't sure why they were going to see this man, just another in a long string of men who pretended to be Luke since he died. The universal outpouring of grief after his death had been expected. He had been in the public eye for so long, the hero that the public had needed. There had been a State funeral and a private Jedi one, but here and there over the galaxy there had been memorials and statues erected. Every anniversary of his death led to HoloNet programming describing Luke's life and achievements. But the one thing Mara hadn't counted one was the sheer number of people who would come forward and claim to actually be Luke.

The first time she had been so angry that she punched the pretender in the face. After that she became almost accustomed to it, efficiently proving that each fake Luke was indeed a pretender. But it didn't make it any easier on her, to go through this time and again. Just when she would start to heal, another blond man would get a delusion of grandeur and take up her time.

.

.

Ben deigned to come out of his room when Han and Leia stopped by for dinner. They had taken to doing that often, stopping in to see how Luke was doing. He appreciated the gesture, but didn't know how to tell them that it almost made his heart ache more to watch them interact and talk, to be the couple they'd always been.

He didn't begrudge them their happiness. They had lost more than anyone with the death of Anakin. But Luke was back to feeling like the third wheel.

"Hey, Kid." Han punched him lightly in the shoulder. "What's going on with you guys?"

Ben started talking about his recent mission, relating a humorous story that had Han chuckling. Luke bit back jealousy at how easily Ben conversed with his uncle. They had always been that way, close in a way that he and Ben hadn't.

When had things gone so wrong? He caught Leia's eye and tried to give her a reassuring smile, but he didn't feel reassured at all. Everything was falling apart and he had no idea how to fix it.

.

.

It had taken even less time to debunk this faker than it had the others. He didn't even carry a passing resemblance to Luke and had gotten all of his information from an underground biography of Luke's life.

Han squeezed Mara's hand before taking his seat in the captain's chair to take them home. Mara sat on the couch in the lounge, the anger inside threatening to bubble out. Why did this keep happening? When would people move on and leave them alone?

Leia came and sat next to her on the couch, her disappointment noticeable through the Force. "I knew it wasn't him…but I just miss him so much, I guess."

"Me too," Mara whispered. "When he said that he had a message for me, that he knew Luke's last words to me…" She tried to stop the angry tears that leaked out of her eyes, but couldn't. "His last words were not 'I love you'. I should have known."

Eyes full of sympathetic tears, Leia gave a sad smile. "Everyone thinks his last words were 'I love you'. But, I've never asked—what were they?"

Mara took a deep breath, eyes far away as if in remembrance. "'It'll be okay, my love…'" She sniffled. "I don't think he expected the parade of wannabes that would insist on putting me through this every couple of years."

Leia hugged an arm around her and patted her shoulder. "I think he knew you would have the kids, and me and Han. But I'm so sorry, Mara…"

Mara wiped at the tears and pulled back from Leia's embrace. Her eyes were still glassy, but she gave Leia a wry smile. "I guess it just hurts because, for just a moment, I let myself wonder… 'what if?'."


	9. Chapter 7

**EmeraldEyedJedi: **I hate that Luke feels that way. I never want him to be sad! But I think he's going through and experience that he needs in order to open his eyes... at least I hope that's how it'll be once the story concludes. Thank you for reading!

**Demendora: **I agree! I hated when they started killing off characters in the novels. I'm with Tim Zahn on this one. I don't think they should have done it, or at least, not as often! Thanks for reading!

**salanderjade: **Oh, I remember "He is Married Still". That one was beautiful and so sad. I believe it was written way before _Sacrifice_... I think maybe Mara had died in childbirth? It was a beautiful story. I"m sorry to have made you cry! And very interesting words about Mara holding everything together for her kids but suffering privately. I think you are more right than you know... Thank you so much!

**Fallon Skywalker: **Hey there! Thank you so much! I'm so glad that both Mara and Luke still have Han and Leia in their corners. They couldn't ask for better family.

**the brown cow: **Sorry! The interludes were a bit short, and this one shorter than the other two. Hopefully today's chapter will make up some for that. Thanks for peeking in!

**Rarobin: **Hey, you! They are breaking my heart, too. (Luckily we won't succumb to it. LOL) Bittersweet is the perfect word for it. I'm glad the voices of the characters are carrying through. Thank you so very much!

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_With chapter 8 we'll be to the halfway point... Let's hope it's not all downhill from there. ;o)_

**CHAPTER 7**

Luke took a shower and changed into the fresh clothing that Mara had given him. They fit perfectly, but the tunic was a little different than what he was used to wearing, lighter in color and the collar not so high. He wiped the steam from the mirror and looked at himself, trying to imagine how different he looked from what he had thirteen years before, and what Mara must think of him now.

He walked into the common room to find Mara busy at her HoloNet station. She looked up as she noticed his presence and her eyes visibly widened as she let them trail over him, taking in her husband's clothing on his body. She didn't say anything or look overly concerned, but he knew her well enough to know her mind was probably racing, unwilling to be sentimental over simple fabric.

She easily shook herself from any reverie she might have fallen into and told him that there was not a listing for Naelli on the HoloNet.

"Of course it couldn't be that easy," Luke said with a grin. Mara gave him a sidelong look, the beginnings of a smirk on her lips, but she quickly squashed it. "It's too bad Artoo isn't with me—Artoo! Do you have him? My droid?"

Mara rolled her eyes. "For Force sakes, I know who Artoo is. And he's with the kids, on Naboo. He follows Betrys around like he did Luke."

Luke couldn't help but grin at that. "Well, in that case, we need someone who can get us pure information. Did you ever work for someone named Talon Karrde? Is he around in this universe? I keep taking so many things for granted, I mean—who won the Smashball tournament last meet?"

"Bryx," Mara answered without missing a beat.

"Really?" Luke asked, pulling a face. "This is a whole other place. Bryx couldn't hold a ball in the air much less win a tournament where I'm from."

"I'll show you the highlights," she promised dryly. "And yes, I did work for Karrde. You're right; he's probably our best bet. Let me see if I can raise him."

She swiveled in her chair and placed the call, leaving the line open so that the call would pick up once it connected. "I worked for Karrde when I met Luke. From what you showed me in your memories, the beginning of our relationships are pretty much identical."

"Pretty much?"

"Well, something was different, because we managed to get together quite a bit earlier than the two of you—hey, move out of the range of the screen, would you? I don't want to give Karrde another heart attack."

"Another?"

But Mara didn't answer him as the line opened and Karrde himself showed up on the screen. He looked exactly as Luke remembered and he felt a pang thinking that he hadn't seen Karrde in quite a while. He was such an important figure in Mara's life and Luke knew that he missed her as well. Mara would want Ben to know Talon better. It was yet another mistake he had made in the time after Mara's death. He vowed to himself to do better if—once—he returned home.

"Talon," Mara said, looking at her old friend. "Thank you for getting with me so quickly."

"Think nothing of it," he said. "How are you? And Ben? Betrys?"

"They're fine. On Naboo with Han, Leia and the family. Listen, I need a favor."

Karrde's eyebrow rose. "A favor for the illustrious Master Jedi?"

"Cute. Look, I need some information on a guy. Marse Naelli. That's N-A-E-L-L-I. Everything you can get. Location, first and foremost."

"Shall I add it to your ever-growing tab, my dear?"

"You know it. And Talon, thanks."

"Anytime," he said, smiling at her. "I'll have the information to you soon. Karrde out."

The screen went blank and Mara disconnected the call, turning to look at Luke. "I guess now we wait again."

He gave her a sideways look. "Really?"

She rolled her eyes. "And I thought you knew me. Come on. Put up your Force disguise and let's go investigate some of the shadier areas of town. From your memory it looked like your guy was a gambler. You never know what we might find in the lower levels."

.

.

Luke watched Mara's braid as she walked in front of him. He stared at the white strands that wove in with the gold and red and thought about how nice it was to see that braid swing in front of him again. He placed his hand to his pocket and felt the bump that was his Mara's braid of hair, resting safely there. He wondered what this Mara would think of him having it, and imagined her rolling her eyes. Even in the situation he was in, he couldn't help but smile at the thought.

They had already checked out three cantinas, going first to the one where Luke had arrested Naelli in his own universe. He wasn't there and no one knew of him. This was beginning to seem like a fruitless search. Naelli had mentioned that he had jumped universes often to amass a fortune, but what if the Naelli that lived here—if he did indeed exist here at all—had nothing to do with this device? Knew nothing of how it worked?

Mara was getting frustrated at the lack of starting places and was now going into cantinas at random, talking with those who were willing to speak with a Jedi. The effort of keeping the Force disguise up was beginning to wear on Luke as well; it wasn't something he was meant to be able to do indefinitely.

"That place was worse than the others," Mara growled, stepping back into the light of the street from the darkened bar. "Anything?"

"Nothing here, either. My only fear is that someone does know him and is tipping him off that he's being looked for. But I haven't felt any deception from anyone so far."

Mara growled again. "Me either." Her comlink buzzed and she brightened, answering it.

"Mara, I have the information you were seeking."

"Good. What can you tell me?" She detoured into an alley and Luke stood watch, listening to the muted conversation behind him.

"This Naelli character is interesting. He once worked for the Empire, out in the Maw Installation. But since then he's changed his name and is now going by Markei Yalmuth. You're in luck, because he lives right there on Coruscant."

Luke let out the breath he had been holding as Mara thanked Karrde and took down the information on Naelli's—now Yalmuth's—location.

"So this guy worked in the Maw? On super-weapons?" Mara asked as she rejoined Luke and they walked back onto the walkway.

"I'm as surprised as you," he said. "I looked up the basic information on Naelli before I went out to arrest him and this was not in his dossier. When the CSF briefed me they mentioned his device, but I didn't know that he might have had a hand in building it. They led me to believe it was a means of teleportation, and I guess it is, from a certain point of view."

Mara made a face at him. "Since when are you a watch-dog of the CSF, anyway?"

"The Chief of State asked me personally to arrest Naelli. It wasn't something that I could exactly turn down."

"The head of the Jedi Order couldn't say no, or assign someone else the task?"

"Not in this case. Not when the Chief of State is Natasi Daala and she has a grudge against all Jedi."

"Daala?" Mara's eyebrows practically rose off her forehead. "What the kriff kind of galaxy do you come from, Skywalker?"

"Cute," he said, stealing her phrase. "But honestly—sometimes I wonder that, too."

"I'm sure. Interesting, though, that Daala would ask a Jedi for help."

"I thought that myself."

"Hm. All right, well, come on, let's head to this address Karrde provided. See what this guy has to say, if he has anything to say at all."

"Just show him your 'bad Jedi' routine and I'm sure he'll come around."

"Bad Jedi?" Mara asked, a smirk forming on her face. "I have no idea what you mean."

"I'm sure you don't," Luke said, but couldn't help another smile. It felt so good to work with Mara again, as partners. In fact, the longer he was here with her, the more he realized that was one of the things he missed most about Mara. Even more than just his wife and lover, he missed the amazing Jedi Master she had become.

.

.

The address was down another several levels, in an area of Coruscant that received no light from the sun, even after the Vong re-shaping. The levels had been dark for some time before the government had been able to set up an artificial sun again, and though most people had left during the evacuation of Coruscant there were still a few individuals down on these levels, many of whom had come back to stay after the war had ended.

The poverty was abject here, trash littering the streets and spice houses on every block. Luke could feel eyes on them from the surrounding buildings and more than that could feel the anger and curiosity the sight of two Jedi brought the dwellers here. But he and Mara kept walking and no one offered them any resistance.

Naelli's home was in a dilapidated storehouse in between two spice houses, but Mara marched right to the door and knocked, calling out Naelli's assumed name. Luke walked around to the side down a narrow alley and noticed a slight movement in the shadows there. He sharpened his gaze and watched as someone, he could feel it was a sentient being, backed up on his hands and knees through the filth on the ground.

"Yalmuth!" he called, jumping over a puddle of sewage.

Naelli jumped up then, not bothering to hide where he was, running toward a hanging fire escape ladder. He jumped on it and started to climb.

"Look, I just want to talk to you," Luke shouted, trying to stop him. "You're not under arrest."

This didn't seem to calm Naelli any, as he kept climbing. Luke rolled his eyes and Force jumped, landing lightly on a landing just above Naelli's head.

"Hey!" Mara yelled out, below them. "Come on down, Yalmuth!"

Naelli looked up at Luke and back down at Mara. "Kriffin' Jedi," he muttered.

Naelli jumped off the end of the ladder and landed at Mara's feet, stumbling on his dismount. Luke jumped from where he was standing and landed, too, then turned to Naelli. "We just want to talk to you. We're not here for any other purpose."

"Unless there's something we should know, starting with why you're using an assumed name," Mara added. She stood standing with a hand on her saber, though it was still attached to her belt.

"Ah, just a misunderstanding," Naelli said, looking around nervously. "Can we talk somewhere else?"

"You're the one who ran. We were trying to talk to you in your home," Luke said. "But come on."

They entered into the old warehouse after Naelli, standing around in the darkened room while he looked out the window at the house next door. "I thought you were one of my neighbors," he said. "They're always in here looking for something to steal and sell."

"Do they knock on your door?" Mara asked pointedly.

"What do you want?" he snapped at her.

"We have some questions for you, about an object with which you might be familiar," Luke cut in, pulling the machine from his pocket. "Is this familiar to you?"

Naelli's eyes widened and Luke could see that it was indeed familiar to him. "Where in the blazing stars did you get that?" he asked, reaching out a hand as if to grab it.

Luke pulled it back. "That's what I want to know from you. What do you know about this machine?"

"Quite a lot. What's it to you?"

"Nothing to me personally, but I wouldn't mind dragging the information out of you," Mara said. Luke tried not to smirk at her 'Bad Jedi' routine.

"Bah. You're a Jedi. What are you going to do? Use your saber to menace me?"

"If you'd like…" Mara's saber snapped on before she had even finished speaking. She pointed it at Naelli's nose, the bright light illuminating the darkened room. "Are you done posturing?"

Naelli looked over the saber to Luke, who stood there casually holding the machine. He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know all about that machine. It's called IDD—Inter-Dimensional Device. It was something of a scrap project of a scientist named Niargen."

"Niargen," Mara repeated, withdrawing her saber. "That sounds familiar."

"It should," Naelli said. "He was one of the brightest minds of the Empire. I worked with him in the Maw Installation."

"Where they worked on Death Star," Luke said, nodding. "So why was this project scrapped?"

"It wasn't a weapon. At the time all the Empire wanted was bigger and better weapons of mass destruction. That," he said, pointing at the IDD, "was just something that Niargen did on his down time."

"But I would think the Empire would love the idea of branching out into other realities," Luke countered.

"Well, they did, but then when it was discovered that there was a time window associated with it, it was deemed too unstable. Also, it was stolen before it could be used to the Empire's advantage."

"Stolen?" Mara and Luke asked at the same time.

"Yeah, stolen. A guy named Marse Naelli stole it from me."

"But you are Marse Naelli," Luke said.

"And so was he. I was using it on a test run, and decided to look myself up. Get a kick of seeing how he lived, what he did. Right before my twenty-four hours were up the bastard grabbed me and rode my coattails back here and then promptly knocked me out and took it. I haven't seen it since."

"So it was never his device to start with," Luke said, looking down at the IDD.

"Luke," Mara said urgently. He looked up in surprise at her use of his name in front of Naelli.

"What?" he asked, wondering what could be so important that she would risk using his real name.

"Did you hear what he said? 'Before his twenty four hours were up…'"

A horrible, gnawing feeling started in his stomach as he swung back to look at Naelli. "What do you mean about the twenty-four hour period? You said, 'before' it was up?"

Naelli looked confused, his brow furrowed. "Well, yeah. Didn't he tell you how it works? Once you jump dimensions you only have twenty-four hours to leave. If you don't leave in that time-frame, well, I'm afraid you're stuck in that galaxy forever."

"Forever?" Luke repeated, trying to keep the shock from his voice. He felt as if his stomach had dropped completely from his body. "Is it usable at all after the twenty four hours? I mean, could you use it to jump to another universe, but not the one you came from?"

"No, it's essentially dead after the time has run-out. Niargen couldn't seem to find a way to fix that flaw. That's why the Empire deemed it too unreliable."

"Where is this Niargen now?" Mara cut in. She was still all business, but Luke could see the tight grip she had on the handle of her lightsaber, the tension in her fingers belying her calm. "Is he still alive?"

"We don't exactly have Maw Installation Project Team reunions," Naelli answered rudely. "But I think I heard something about him being in a mental institution on Crseih Station."

"Thanks for the tip. Now, one thing I'm confused about—the Empire deemed this unreliable, yet you still had it stolen from you? Were there more than one IDD?"

Hope sprang in Luke's mind at Mara's question. Maybe there was a way back, after all.

"There was a second, but it was destroyed. All that was left was that one," he pointed to the IDD in Luke's hand.

"What happened to the first? Could it be pieced back together or something?"

"No, I'm afraid it's long gone. It was on the Death Star, you see."

.

.

They left Naelli's house and headed back to the Temple, both lost in their own thoughts. Luke's stomach was in a constant knot, the reality of his situation setting in. He could never leave. Never go home to Ben. He would never see Leia, Han, Jaina or Allana again. And they would never know what happened to him. He left no note. There would be no evidence that anything had happened to him. He wondered if they had noticed yet. Ben was probably still on Adumar, but the Jedi would have noticed his absence by now. He no longer lived in his suite at the Temple but was there every day, teaching classes and interacting with other Masters.

But then again, he had withdrawn so much since Mara's death, finding pain in being with others instead of comfort. He knew that he wasn't the only one who had lost her, but the pain was still so fresh for him. Everyone else seemed to go on so easily, hugging their significant others to them and thanking the Force it hadn't been their wife, or husband. It wasn't fair of him to feel that way, he knew. He was not the only one to lose someone. Leia had lost both of her sons. Chewbacca had died at the beginning of the Vong war and it still seemed unreal that he was gone and not a constant presence at Han's side. So many of his students and fellow Masters had gone into the Force as well, but Mara…the loss of her had made even the simple act of breathing a hard one to accomplish.

Mara ushered him back into her suite through a secret escape hall that had been built. He wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to hide him from the other Jedi, and dampening his sense in the Force was becoming harder as the emotional hits kept coming. Mara was a whole other consideration. He knew she was finding it hard to live and work with him, comparing him to her husband and most likely finding him lacking. He wanted to be the man she had known, but as always she was behind the walls she had built to protect herself. Since that single kiss, when he had thought he was going to leave, she had retreated behind them again, and the emotional rollercoaster they were on didn't seem to be helping things in that regard.

"I'm going to see what Karrde can find on Niargen," she said as they exited the passage and entered the hall of the suite. She walked away, and he watched her go, too tired to go after her, and knowing that she needed the time away from him to process things.

He entered the guest room and sat in the chair that was swiftly becoming his 'go-to' spot, looking out over the traffic as it zoomed by again. He swallowed hard as tears pricked at his eyes, thinking of what a mess he had made by his own selfish desires. But as quickly as the despair fell over him, he pushed it back, realizing it did him no good. It was what got him into this situation, and he wouldn't succumb to it again. The Force had led him here for a reason, and there had to be a way home.

And no matter what, there was still Mara. Always Mara. She had been his home, his touchstone in the galaxy, and it seemed so strange to now be working so hard to leave her behind.


	10. Chapter 8

_Here's the half-way point a little early. The TF.N boards are moving so I wanted to post another chapter over there beforehand and thought I'd go on and post it here, too. Chapter 9 will be on Monday. I've also decided to start using the PMing tool to answer reviews. Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you continue to enjoy._

**Chapter 8**

Karrde didn't get back with them on Niargen for two days. The time crept by. Mara returned to teach her classes, but turned down a diplomatic mission. She used the excuse that her children would be home soon, but Luke knew that she hated having to rearrange her life and her schedule. It was something that they couldn't do indefinitely, but for now their lives were in constant motion while trying to find a solution to Luke's situation.

They ate their meals together and talked little. Luke was still overwhelmed with the idea that he had brought this on himself, that he had stranded himself a galaxy away from his son and the rest of his family.

There was a tension between him and Mara now, a feeling that if one word too many was spoken that something between them would break. Luke wished for their bond now and realized that he hadn't known how often he had relied on it to see what Mara was feeling or thinking. She was so adept at hiding her emotions and she was using that ability now.

"Credit for your thoughts?" Luke asked as they entered the second day of waiting for Karrde to get back with them on Niargen's whereabouts.

Mara's mouth quirked. "I'll have to see the creds first. To make sure they're legal standard here."

He grinned, dropping his head to the side and running a hand down the back of his head. "Really?"

"Skywalker." Mara rolled her eyes. "I was just thinking about the vision you showed me. About your life with…Mara. Thinking about how differently things could have turned out."

"You said earlier that our relationships had a similar beginning. Should I assume that you were operating under a certain Last Command when you met your Luke?"

"Hardly an auspicious beginning, but yes. I assume that your Mara killed your clone, unless you spell your name L–u-u-k-e?"

"Nah, would take even longer to sign an autograph," he joked.

Mara's lips quirked again but she looked somewhat uncomfortable with the conversation.

"It is interesting to think of the paths our relationships took, though. You and your Luke, married with a baby in 12 ABY and I was…floundering then."

"Floundering." Mara said. "I was wondering what could have happened to you and Mara to keep Betrys from being born—what happened to change things so drastically?"

"You see, I've been wondering the same. What happened with you and Luke to change things so drastically here? The idea that I—we—could have had a child together so early… It amazes me, Mara."

"She _is_ amazing," Mara said, her eyes shining with pride as she thought of her daughter. "He was so besotted by her. The first time he held her, his grin…" She trailed off and closed her eyes as if remembering that moment.

Luke tried to imagine. A daughter at that time in his life would have given him purpose, the same resolve Ben had given him when he came along later in his life. He had never felt such peace as he had when he had held Ben and imagined his bright future. Perhaps that could have happened for him much earlier in the form of a daughter with Mara, and her very presence could have inspired in him changes to the Jedi Order that could have helped it withstand the dark times to come.

But at that time he had felt his purpose was to pave a way for his niece and nephews through the Force, but had found the task monumental. There was never a moment's peace, but he had thought he was doing the work of a Jedi by jumping headlong into so many missions and battles. Plus the Solo kids were kidnapped so often by those seeking to distort their powers in the Force, and he had made so many mistakes with them. So many mistakes that at the time had seemed the only viable options for the kids' safety.

"How did it happen? How did the two of you manage to work through so many issues so fast? Mara and I—even before my failures we were just friendly, at best."

"At best?" Mara asked. "I think that was just… me, the way I was at the time. I was so closed off and angry, but you showed me a new way. A new path. I wasn't ready to be a Jedi, but the Smuggler's Alliance gave me a sense of purpose and peace like I had never had."

"Yes, Mara once told me that she enjoyed her work with the Alliance. She left it when we married to devote her time to becoming a Jedi."

"I did eventually, too, when I realized that the Force was calling me. That I couldn't have the Master without the Force," she said, with a small, pained smile.

Luke imagined that had been a private joke between her and Luke and felt a surprising stab of jealousy. "But Betrys…I'm sorry. Her very existence is overwhelming to me."

"It's even harder for me to believe that she doesn't exist where you come from. She is, like her father before her and her brother after her, my reminder of the good things in the galaxy. When I realized I was pregnant, Luke and I hadn't been together for very long. We kept running into each other on Coruscant and, well, you had that sex-ed class back on Tatooine. You know the rest."

Luke choked out a laugh, thinking of a long ago class he had taken as a teenager in Anchorhead. Aunt Beru had seemed relieved that the school would be teaching that topic, and he was thrilled, not wanting to hear any stories about his aunt or uncle. He embarrassed easily then, and the idea had been horrific. But the class had been worse. Camie and Windy had been in there with him, and though they could be friendly when Fixer wasn't around, Camie had seemed angry with him for some imagined slight. She then tried to embarrass him by teaching him how to put a prophylactic on a phallic-looking fruit the teacher had brought in for demonstration.

"Um, yes," he said, rolling his eyes. "I do remember that. I'm somewhat embarrassed that you do, too." He couldn't help but notice that Mara had changed the subject somewhat, trying to steer away from heavier topics to humor.

Mara looked entirely too pleased with herself.

But Luke still had questions. "Did Luke give you our father's—Anakin's—lightsaber?"

She nodded. "Yes," she said, looking as if she were warring with herself on whether to say more. She sighed, almost as if speaking about all of this was painful for her. "That was the turning point for our relationship, at least for me. I realized what a gift the saber was, and that it had absolutely no strings attached to it. That was almost more amazing to me than the gift itself. It was after that that we started to see one another. A year later, Betrys was conceived."

"So Ben must have been a big surprise."

"I told him when I was pregnant with Bets that I would vape him where he stood should he do it to me again. I guess I grew soft in my old age."

Luke grinned but his mind was racing, trying to take it all in. He tried to imagine himself on Coruscant in those days after the Thrawn campaign. He had been close to realizing his dream of a Jedi Academy but then it had all been waylaid and almost ruined by the reborn Emperor on Byss. He snuck a look at Mara, amazed anew to be sitting so close to her, to be able to see the freckles that spread across the skin of her nose and cheeks. He knew he should tell her about Byss and his struggles there and afterward, but he was selfish and didn't want to see the rejection in her eyes when she knew that he had touched the Dark Side.

"Ben is the greatest joy in my life, after Mara," he said instead.

"Ben was such a gift, like his sister. We were so tired and worn down but then there he was, a reminder of the Light, or that's what Luke always said," Mara said, looking somewhat embarrassed to show so much emotion.

"I'd imagine my grin when I first held him matched another one in this galaxy," he said, thinking back to the day of Ben's birth and his joy at having not just a son, but his wife restored to health.

Mara looked into his face, her eyes somewhat glassy. "Yes," she said. "I can imagine that, too."

.

.

After the drawn-out days Karrde finally commed the suite, telling Mara that Regelie Niargen had been located. But he was not anywhere Luke expected to find such a highly regarded scientist.

"He's in an asylum on Crseih Station," Mara said to Luke after she hung up with Karrde. "Does that ring any bells to you?"

Luke grimaced. "Yeah, it was an asteroid prison in the Outer Rim. Leia's kids were once kidnapped and held there. That was about…" Luke thought for a moment. "14 ABY."

"That was right after we got married," Mara said. "The kids weren't kidnapped then—I've never even heard of this place before."

"What about a creature called Waru?" Luke asked warily.

"From the expression on your face I think it's probably best that I haven't."

"Yeah, you could say that." Luke had thought that perhaps Waru was from an anti-galaxy of sorts, but now he wondered whether perhaps this had been Waru's home. He hoped not. He didn't want to deal with Waru or his cult of followers again. "I'll tell you about Waru later, if you really want to know. When do we leave?"

Mara shook her head. "I just turned down a diplomatic mission and now…my kids are going to be back in five days. How far out in the Rim is this place?"

"Pakunni System."

"That far," Mara said, then swore. "Well, the _Sabre_ will make it in a day and a half if I push it."

The _Sabre_. She had said it so casually. He thought of the ship he had commissioned for his wife after the loss of her beloved _Fire_. He had pored over every detail, wanting to make the ship a place of security and peace for her, a gift grand enough to show his ever expanding love. Mara had delighted in it and had been crushed when it was lost. He had been crushed, too. He had taken pride in being able to give her that gift and to have it lost so quickly and to the Vong War had troubled and saddened him.

"We'll leave within the hour," she said. "I'm going to go ahead and request our clearance."

She swept over to the comm and he went back into the guest room to pack the clothing he had been wearing. Three days on the _Sabre_ with Mara. One and a half there and back. It would be quite the interesting trip, not to mention what they would find when they arrived.

Luke took a deep breath and sought to center himself in the Force. He found that he looked forward to those days, away from Coruscant and the Temple. He had been so focused on what he had done wrong and on the fact that Mara wasn't really his Mara that he wasn't appreciating what he had. He hoped they would find answers on Creish Station, but if not, at least he had that time with Mara.

He closed his eyes and smiled.

.

.

The _Jade Sabre _was as beautiful as he remembered, its gleaming hull a pointed blade that was a beacon in the darkened dock. He crept forward under a Force disguise and used the beacon call to lower the ramp, quickly running up it and entering the cockpit. He slid down into his familiar co-pilot's seat and waited, watching out the windows to make sure no one saw him in there. The room stayed quiet, though, no one around to see a dead man enter his wife's ship.

Mara entered a few minutes later, efficiently starting the pre-flight checks on her ship, her hands moving effortlessly over the controls. He started to ask if she needed his help, but realized with a pang that she was used to doing it on her own now and didn't need, and probably didn't want, his help.

They left Coruscant with little problem, jumping to lightspeed as Mara explained that she'd told the other Masters that she was off to Naboo to visit in the last days of the family's vacation.

"What if the kids make it back before we do?" Luke asked.

"They won't. But if they do…well, we'll deal with that later," she dismissed, but Luke could see the tell-tale creases around her eyes that signaled she was worried about something. "Now, this Niargen, just what are we going to talk to him about?"

Luke let out a puff of air and watched the starlines as they raced past the window. "Would you smack me if I said 'I don't know'?"

"Try it and see."

He gave her a sideways glance. "I don't—" He grinned as her hand came up. "I'm not sure," he amended. "It just seems to me that if he could create this device once, why not again? And if the codes are fixed to each universe, why couldn't I just jump right back?"

"Why indeed?" Mara murmured.

"And maybe there were more than two created. At least, that's my hope. We'll see how that hope gets stomped once we're there. This also might be a good time to mention that the last time I saw the Creish Station of my galaxy it was nothing more than space dust."

"Now you tell me. Cute, Skywalker."

He grinned at her and leaned back into a comfortable and familiar position in his chair, throwing his arm over the back of it and hugging it to him as he turned to look at her. He watched her eyes widen as she took in his new position and he frowned as she pressed her lips together. "Mara, what?"

"It's nothing," she said, standing and checking the auto-pilot. She turned to leave the cockpit, but looked at him once more. "It's just…sometimes you remind me so much of _him_."

Luke watched her go.

.

.

The _Sabre_ had three cabins, and Luke had left his things in the smallest spare one, the one furthest from the stateroom. He smiled to himself as he let his hand trail down the wall of the ship, the ship he had worked so hard to build. He found himself wondering when the Luke of this galaxy had commissioned the ship for his wife. Under what circumstances he had done so and if it, too, had been a wedding gift. He saw all of the same attributes in this ship that had been in the original, but he noticed other things, as well. How the second cabin connected to the stateroom almost as if that room had once been for a child. How there was a game table in the main hold and extra seats at the counter in the galley. He thought of Mara and the children on this ship and had a pang at the thought that his Ben had never seen the _Sabre_, knowing only the _Shadow _as his mother's ship.

He trailed around looking, feeling even more surreal in the ship than he had in the Temple. He still had the Temple to go to on his Coruscant, and the _Shadow_. But the _Sabre_ was another ghost from his past, like Mara. He remembered how astonished she had been when he'd gifted her with the ship, how she had remained so still in the aftermath of his pronouncement and had not looked at him or at the ship, but at the ground. He had thought that maybe she was disappointed or overwhelmed but when she had looked up at him with glassy eyes, he had taken her in his arms and held her until she started to laugh through her tears. She was still so unused to gifts given out of love then and had been overwhelmed, but only in the best way, she had been quick to assure him.

They had christened the captain's chair that first night. He found himself smiling at the memory, the familiar pain that came with remembering her not as raw in his chest. Instead it felt good to remember her. Right.

He found Mara in the galley, sitting on a stool at the low bar that served as the table. "Hey," he said, sticking his head around the corner. "Can I come in?"

Mara didn't look up but he could see a half smile on her face. "Hungry?"

"Usually," he answered and watched her smile grow larger. "What's to eat?"

"You have two hands," she pointed out.

"That doesn't sound very appetizing," he muttered, looking at his hands as if he had never seen them before. "Maybe with some hot sauce—"

Mara laughed. "You're crazy, Skywalker."

He shook his head. "Sometimes. But seriously, are you hungry? Can I make you something?"

She gave him an appraising look. "Sure, do your worst."

"What? Didn't your Luke ever cook for you?" He turned and opened a cabinet behind him, rummaging through to see what supplies Mara kept on hand.

"Ah…well, somewhat," Mara answered. Her voice wasn't as guarded as it had been before when she talked about her husband. "He could make one or two dishes really well, and I had three or four I could do…We got by."

"Was one of those dishes teltiar noodles with cream sauce?"

"Actually, no," Mara said with a confused half-grin. "Where did you pick that up?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," he said mildly, putting the noodles on to cook. Mara didn't say anything, just watched him as he poured a pasta sauce base in a bowl and started adding seasonings. He looked up to see Mara watching him speculatively.

"Did I—she teach you?"

He grinned. "Nope. But she loved the meal. Would eat seconds."

"Really? Must be good. Anything I can help with?"

"No, I'm good. Just adding the last bit of spice here. It'll cook for about ten and then we'll be ready to eat." He put the bowl in the cooker and hopped up on the counter to wait for it to finish.

Mara sat quietly in her spot, but after a moment broke the silence. "So seriously, where did you learn to make this dish?"

He smiled. "Would you believe me if I said an ex-girlfriend?"

Mara made a face. "Maybe I don't want to know."

He laughed. "Mara said the same thing," he said, his memory tracking back to a similar conversation that was held not on the _Sabre_ but in their quarters on Yavin IV. "But after she tasted the dish she didn't care where I had learned it."

The timer went off and Luke prepared them each a dish, setting Mara's in front of her with a flourish. She rolled her eyes, but took a bite and her whole face changed. She chewed with gusto and swallowed, only to quickly take another bite. "Stang! This is good, Skywalker." She dug into her plate.

"I'm glad you like it." He watched as she ate, his own hunger forgotten as she devoured her meal. Mara had always liked this simple dish. It wasn't hard to throw together and he had made it for her often. It was nice to see Mara enjoying something again. He took a bite and smiled to himself. He hadn't made this since before Mara had died and it was good to eat something familiar again, something that reminded him of home.

After she had died he had catalogued so many things that he missed about her. The obvious things like her scent, the color of her hair, her smile and the warmth of her Force sense had been the most missed. But as time moved on, he realized that he missed traits of hers that were even smaller, such as the sound of her foot tapping impatiently as she tried to figure out a problem, the whisper of her breath over his skin, and the sight of her enjoying something she found pleasurable.

It was just nice to be with her again.

After the edge of hunger was gone they lingered over the meal, having nowhere else to go and little else to do.

"So," Mara asked, tapping her fork against her lips. "Just who was this ex-girlfriend with great taste in pasta sauce?"

"And men," Luke couldn't help but point out.

"Debatable."

He good-naturedly rolled his eyes and grinned. "I thought you wouldn't care who it was, like Mara didn't."

"That was _her_. This is me," Mara said, and something crackled between them with that response. She caught his gaze and stared and he swallowed hard—emotion, not pasta, in his throat.

"Her name was Reliy," Luke answered quietly. "And I guess I wouldn't really call her an ex, not in the strictest sense of the word. But she did teach me the sauce."

"When did you know this Reliy? Luke never made this sauce so I'm assuming he either didn't know her, or didn't want to bring up an 'ex' with me."

"Maybe he didn't know her or didn't know her as well as I did. It was during the war…the Rebellion. She was a fellow pilot and we shared a…fondness…for a time."

Mara rolled her eyes. "A fondness. And when did you have time to date during the Rebellion? Luke always joked that all the time on Dagobah with Yoda really cut into his personal life."

"But I wasn't on Dagobah very long really."

"Not long?" Mara said, her eyes widening. "Luke was there for close to two years." She paused, noticing his shocked look, and said, "It's just so strange, how similar our galaxies are, but dissimilar, too. Do you think that one galaxy has sprung from the other's changes? The decisions made or not made?"

Luke thought about that for a moment. "I'm not sure. If Naelli is to be believed then there are infinite galaxies, but then again, there are also infinite decisions."

"It's a lot to take in."

"It is. This place we're going to, the station—when I was there last there was the creature I mentioned to you, Waru. He was believed to be an inter-dimensional traveler."

"What happened to him?"

"We're not sure. My hope is that he was able to go back to his galaxy. I've speculated that a rip in the time/space continuum opened to take him home, but…that's all it is, speculation."

"Is this place susceptible to rips in the continuum of time?" Mara asked wryly, standing and rinsing her plate to place it in the recycler.

"If it is I suppose that would only be a good thing for me." Luke handed Mara his empty plate when she motioned for it.

"Yes," Mara agreed. But her agreement strained the conversation and they were left quiet once again after their meal.


	11. Chapter 9

_I'm usually known for writing a different type of action, so I hope you'll find the type of action in this chapter up to par. ;) _

**CHAPTER 9**

They reached the station after exiting lightspeed. It looked much the same as Luke remembered from the last time he'd been there. Mara grimaced at the black hole, but the station itself protected them from it. He directed her to land and request a shield for the ship, to save it from the intensity of the continual x-ray assault. They managed to find a ride toward the domed city, and Luke told Mara the story of Han violating an alien's leg when they had been there together in his dimension. Han hadn't realized it was an alien's leg appendage and tried to shake it like a hand. It broke the silence that had sprung up between them, and he was glad to share a laugh at Han's expense if it would bring a smile back to Mara's face.

The asylum was far within the city, and the ride was sticky and hot. He had forgotten the tropical heat of the domed city. Long removed were the days of living on Yavin IV, and he was no longer used to humid temperatures. He quickly grew warm. Mara made no complaint but sweat trickled in a thin line down the side of her face.

Getting in to see Niragen turned out to be quite easy. The asylum had regular visiting hours and during that time most of the patients were seated in a cafeteria-style room with their visitors. Luke thought of all the people who lived here and how in his universe they had evacuated this system so many years before. At least, he hoped they had all been evacuated. He had been in no condition to help at that time and now grew concerned that some of these people may have been lost in that explosion.

They signed in at the front desk under assumed names and were told that Niargen would pose no threat to them physically, though the specifics of his medical condition could not be discussed. They were told, however, that he had checked himself in under his own cognizance and continued to stay year after year under his own free will. The nurse also mentioned that they were the first visitors he had ever had. Mara gave Luke a sidelong look at the information, before going to find their patient.

The nurse pointed them in his direction. They found the former scientist seated in a back corner of the cafeteria, the artificial light from the dome shining in over him. Introducing themselves, they went ahead and gave Luke's real name, thinking that an asylum patient was probably a pretty safe person to reveal a 'dead' person to. Luke also dropped the Force disguise he had been using since landing on planet, hoping to appeal to Niragen with nothing but the truth.

Niragen look up at them quizzically. He was an older human male, his bald head reflecting the light from the windows. "The Emperor's Hand and Jedi Luke Skywalker," he said in greeting. "You're here to see me? To what do I owe this honor?" He paused, his eyebrows sloping inward in thought. "Does the Emperor wish to see me?"

"The Emperor's dead," Mara said bluntly.

Niargen didn't look surprised at her statement. "That's right. I forget that sometimes."

"We've come to ask you some questions," Luke said, jumping in before Mara could persist. "If that's okay." When Niagren nodded, Luke continued. "I understand that you once were a scientist in the Maw Installation. That you worked for the Empire—for the Emperor."

"You understand that correctly."

"I also understand that you created a machine that you called an Inter-Dimensional Device."

"I can take credit for that, yes."

"Were there only ever two devices created?" Mara asked.

"I created one in my free time, just a hobby really. The second one I created at the request of my superiors. They felt that it was a great invention, but I felt it was flawed. One could only travel for twenty-four hours and I could not fix that defect." Niargen fiddled with a cup that was in front of him. "Why?"

"I heard about it from a former colleague of yours," Luke answered. "He told me that of the two created that only one still worked. That the other had been blown to pieces on the Death Star."

"That was a lie."

"A lie?" Mara asked, sitting down next to Niargen. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that my former colleague lied to you. There was never an IDD on the Death Star. Don't you think Tarkin would have used it to escape? No, I have the second IDD."

"You have it?" Luke asked, his voice hitching in surprise.

"Of course I do. But why are you so interested?" Niargen looked appraisingly at them both. "Aren't you dead?" he asked of Luke.

"No," he said, and put the backing of the Force behind the word to stop any further questioning.

Niargen looked confused for a minute. "Why am I here?"

"We wanted to speak with you," Mara said. "Don't you remember? About the IDD that you created?"

"No, that's not what I meant. Why am I here? In this asylum. You know I'm a political prisoner."

"The nurse told us that you checked yourself in here. Maybe you just missed the power of a black hole," Mara said, gesturing out to the domed city and the black hole that loomed beyond, just like the black holes surrounding the Maw.

"Maybe I missed intelligent conversation and this is the only place to find it."

"Brains and a sense of humor. I think I'm in love," Mara snapped. "Look, what can you tell us about this IDD? You say you have the second one?"

"I can tell you that it is flawed."

"Why is it flawed?" Luke asked again.

"It only works for twenty-four hours! The Emperor didn't want it."

"We know that it only works for twenty-four hours. But the question is—why? Can you jump back to the original galaxy you came from if you accidentally stay past the time period?"

Niargen shook his head, holding his cup up for a drink. He swallowed and then looked at Luke. "The IDD is only stable for twenty-four hours because that's all the power I could put behind it. I can't change the laws of physics."

Luke fought the urge to raise his hand to his temple. They were getting nowhere. "What about the second device? You said you had it."

"Oh, I have it, Skywalker. It's right here."

Mara and Luke both looked around the table, empty save for Niargen's cup. "Where?" Luke finally asked.

"Right here." Niargen held up his cup. After a beat he started to laugh. "I'm only joking. This is just a cup."

Mara did not look amused. "I'm getting impatient, Niargen. Do you have the second IDD or not?"

"My dear." He reached out for her hand. Mara pulled it back before he could touch her. "If I had an IDD on my person do you think I'd still be sitting here?"

A silence grew between them, broken only by the loud chatter of other patients and their families. Finally Luke asked, "Other than the IDD, do you know of a way to move through or to other dimensions?"

Niargen looked as if he were puzzling it out. Finally he said, "Only if you can harness a power larger than time itself. But then, if you could do that, why would you be sitting here?" He drank his cup dry. "Personally I think you'll get further by using this cup."

Luke let out a frustrated breath and stood. "Thank you for meeting with us."

They were nearing the exit when Niragen called about to them. Beside him, Mara rolled her eyes, and Luke shook his head almost imperceptibly. "Hang on, I'll go see what he wants." He left her there and jogged back to Niragen's table. "Yes?"

Niragen still appeared to be enamored with his cup. "I forgot to tell you that the duplicate you seek is here."

"The duplicate?"

"You were asking me about the second one…it's here. It used to be housed elsewhere but now, it's here."

The second IDD. Luke's stomach knotted. After the twists and turns of his earlier conversation with Niragen, he wasn't sure what to believe. "Here on this station?"

"Here," Niragen said, handing Luke his cup. On the cup was a hand-drawn map. "I told you that you'd find more use from the cup." He didn't wait for Luke to speak further, getting up and walking away.

.

.

"Well, that was a waste," Mara murmured as Luke met back up with her at the door. "I thought he might have more answers for us."

"Only if they were on the bottom of his cup." Luke held the cup up for Mara's inspection and saw her eyes widen as she took in the markings covering it.

"Is that—a map?" She took the cup from him as they exited the asylum.

"He told me that the duplicate I seek is actually here on the station, and gave me this map. I have no idea if the information is any good or not, but I couldn't sense any deception from him."

"Or common sense," Mara disagreed. "The 'duplicate'. The other IDD, I presume?"

"I hope so. Do you think we should follow the map?"

Mara gave him a look as if she were thinking about checking him into Niragen's asylum. "Of course I think we should follow the map." She stepped into the taxi that had been waiting to take them back to the entrance of the dome. "But why would Naelli lie to us about it being on the Death Star?"

"Maybe he still wants it for himself."

"Maybe." Mara reached out to pull open the door and Luke's danger sense flared. "Did you—" he started to ask her, when she swung up from behind him with her saber and stopped a blaster shot from hitting his head.

He didn't speak, grabbing his own saber from the folds of his cloak and moving, already tracking the next blaster shot as it aimed for his head. He turned and crouched, using the rear bumper of the taxi for cover. Mara moved beside him, panting slowly. It was quiet around them, only the driver of the taxi cowering in his seat.

"What the kriff was that?" Mara growled, eyes scanning the surrounding buildings for the source of the shots.

"They looked like blaster shots," Luke said dryly, his own eyes seeking answers. He cast out with the Force but the immediate sense of danger had past, leaving only a dim uncertainty.

"What is this? Jedi humor?" Mara snapped. "Where the hell did those shots come from? No one even knows we're here."

"I don't know. Do you want to pursue or should we continue on with the map?"

Mara looked at him like he had grown another head. "Pursue, of course. Those shots came out of nowhere and I, for one, want to know why."

"Just checking. I don't want to drag you further into something that's my fight." Luke placed the cup in the inner pocket of his cloak.

"It's a little late for that, Skywalker." She turned and sent the taxi off. The driver looked only too pleased to comply, driving off in a cloud of dust and leaving them alone on the street. "Come on, we're too open here." Mara grabbed his hand and pulled him to the cover of some nearby buildings. There was still no sense of imminent danger in the Force but Mara was in her element now, tracking through the streets silently, her hand never far from the belt where her saber hung.

"The shots came from this direction." Luke took the lead from her and cut through an alley to come out next to a building diagonal from where they had just been standing. They scaled the fire escape quickly, landing lightly on the roof of the building. Luke walked to the edge of the roof and stopped as he reached the far corner of it. He stretched out with the Force. "There were two of them. They were right here."

Mara looked down to where they had been standing minutes before. "Who the hell were they?"

"You had never even heard of this station before I mentioned it, so it's safe to assume it has to do with us speaking to Niargen. Did anyone other than Karrde know we were going to speak with him?"

Mara opened her mouth to answer but quickly whipped her head around to track her eyes after an approaching speeder, the Force sending yet another warning to them. "Down!" she screamed as the speeder buzzed them.

Luke dropped, but as the speeder passed he used enhanced Force speed to run after it, jumping from the edge of the roof to grab the underside of the vehicle.

"What the kriff?" he heard one of the beings inside of the speeder scream out. "He's hanging onto the underside!"

The driver banked left and turned sharply in the air. Luke hung on grimly, managing to grab a hold of the tail fin to hoist himself up to the trunk of the speeder. He could see inside of it now, with a female Twi'lek pilot and human male passenger. The male gave Luke a startled look, but then pulled out a blaster and pointed it. Luke ducked as the back window opened and a shot came out. He held on tightly to the tail fin with his right hand while using the Force to rip the blaster from the man's hand. "Land this speeder," he screamed.

They were back over the roof again, dropping quickly as the pilot kept trying to throw Luke off the back. When her drop to the left didn't work she swung around and tried going to the right, overcorrecting in the air to wobble dangerously close to the building. Luke felt the danger throb in the Force again and listened to it without thought, letting go of the tail fin as the speeder dropped close to the roof. He fell the few feet from the back, cushioning his fall and rolling with the Force.

He jumped to his feet and ran to Mara's side as the speeder managed to right itself momentarily. But on executing the next turn to fly off, the wing of it clipped the side of the building. It started to descend almost immediately, a crash landing imminent. Mara took off down the fire escape again and Luke followed, their speed in the Force no match for the accelerated speed of the vehicle as it plowed into the street below, residents of the dome scattering as it fell.

They reached the smoking wreck as the male human was exiting. The pilot was lying against the smoking controls, and Mara pulled open the door back to drag her out. The male started to run. Luke sprinted after him, easily outdistancing the injured man. "Stop!" he yelled. "We just want to talk to you."

The man did stop, but picked up a rod that had dropped from the underside of the wreckage, aiming it daringly at Luke's chest. "I don't want any trouble," he said, the rod shaking in his hand as Luke's saber ignited and sliced it in half.

Mara checked the Twi'lek's pulse. She laughed at the man's pronouncement and at the half rod he now held in his hand. "Well, too bad—you've found it. Now tell me why you were shooting at us."

"We weren't shooting at you. He," he pointed at Luke, "kriffin' jumped on the back of our speeder and forced us to crash!"

"It was your friend's bad piloting that caused you to crash," Mara said. "And she'll live. I think she's just unconscious." Mara placed the Twi'lek on the ground and focused on the male. "Again, why were you shooting at us?"

The man gulped and glanced Mara's hard eyes and the saber at her waist. "Are you a… Jedi?"

"Yes," Luke answered for the both of them, shutting his own saber down.

"I didn't want to be involved in anything like this," the man said, raising his hand to the gash on his forehead. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, he's sorry," Mara said, looking at Luke. She brushed her hands together as if cleaning off crumbs. "Well, that's that, I guess."

The sound of a siren came from a distance. The man looked toward it and started to sway on his feet. Luke grabbed him and steadied him. He could feel the deception leeching off the man in the Force, and turned him to face him. "Tell me why you shot at us," he said, time running out as the sirens came closer.

The man looked at Luke as if he couldn't look away. "We were paid to shoot anyone who came to speak to the scientist that you went to see."

"Paid by who?" Luke asked, keepingthe power of the Force in his voice.

"Don't know him. Met him in a Sabaac game. Fast credits."

Luke released the man's arm and moved back as the security force stopped their vehicle and began to take inventory of the crash. Mara stepped to the side to speak with the alien in charge. Luke stayed back, once again donning his Force disguise to blend into the background. He sighed with the effort of so much Force expenditure, and worked to calm his breath.

The paramedics took the male and started working on his gash, while the security guards cuffed him to the vehicle. Luke watched with a sort of detachment, thinking of what he had just been told. A Sabaac game. It was all circumstantial evidence, of course, but Naelli had to be the one to pay these two to shoot at anyone visiting Niargen. But which Naelli, and why? Other than Niragen's ravings about his cup and the map that may not even lead to anything, he hadn't exactly been a font of information.

The thoughts rolled around in Luke's head and he began to wonder if it had been chance that this particular dimension had been keyed into the IDD in the first place. He had thought that to be the case, but if Naelli had paid someone to shoot anyone who visited the one man who could feasibly build another IDD…not to mention that Daala had been so very intent that the Jedi guard the item…

Luke's mouth twisted and his stomach rolled, the implication too much to handle. None of this had been by chance at all. He'd been set up all along, falling for it headfirst and with no questions asked.


	12. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

After providing statements to the authorities they were allowed to leave. The uniformed aliens had encouraged them to leave the system completely, but there was little chance of that since they still had Niargen's crudely drawn map to follow.

"Give me that," Mara snapped, taking the cup from him. She narrowed her eyes to try to read it. "I'm guessing it starts at the asylum and sends us—" She paused and looked over the neatly laid out streets before turning her back toward the black holes visible through the dome. "In this direction."

She took off down the street, pushing damp hair back from her head. The heat was stifling and Luke discreetly wiped at his own face as he followed meekly behind. He wondered if he should tell her what he had just realized about having been set up by Daala. There was too much information jumbling around in his mind, too many questions and what-ifs. Why would Daala send him to another dimension? Why not just kill him? What was she doing to the Jedi in his absence?

The thought propelled him forward. He stepped into stride beside Mara as he realized anew that he needed that device to get back home. He couldn't afford to be wishy-washy. Everything he had worked so hard to build could be falling to pieces back in his own dimension. Not to mention Ben. He could only hope that Daala hadn't acted against the Order in any way. But if she had, he had faith in his Jedi, though he still felt a pang of fear in his heart.

He followed Mara as she took a sharp detour between two buildings, her finger following the line on the cup. The Force sharpened her senses and he hesitantly reached out with his own Force inquiry, trying to determine if the path they were on was the correct one.

"Don't do that." Mara's harsh words cut into his concentration.

"Do what?" They had stopped in the shadow of the two buildings but he could still see the glint of ire in Mara's eyes.

"Don't overlap your presence with mine."

"I… I didn't realize that I was," he said, thinking back over the last few moments and realizing that he was being honest with her. He hadn't intentionally tried to merge with her, thinking that ability lost with the bond that had never existed between them.

"Well, you were. So don't." Mara's words were crisp and he found himself nodding to appease her. She glared at him a moment longer but relented, turning back into the consummate Jedi he had come to admire. She traced the lines on the cup again and looked out over the landscape that stretched before them. They had reached the end of the city and there was only a barren field between them and the base of the dome. "According to this, there should be something here."

"Perhaps it's buried?" He sounded skeptical even to his own ears.

"Anything's possible, I guess." Mara flipped the cup upside down. "Unless I was supposed to read it this way."

Luke took the cup from her and tilted it on its side. "Or like this."

But she didn't smile as he had hoped she would. She didn't even offer a "Cute, Skywalker." She just marched out into the field, leaving him to follow her once more. He trudged on after her, casting out his Force sense, suspicious of the open field and the rooftops of the fringe of buildings behind them. He was careful not to overlap with Mara's strong presence but it was hard for him not to do so, having missed the pure beauty of her Force essence. Glancing down at the cup he stopped in his tracks, tilting it again to view it in the bright, artificial dome light. Something about the pattern of the lines and points seemed familiar to him.

Mara's voice cut into his puzzling thoughts. "I think Niargen is in the asylum for a reason, Skywalker."

"What?" He looked up from the cup and the tantalizing answer, just out of his reach. He looked around at the barren field and kicked at a tuft of browning grass under his feet. "I think you're right. I don't think the IDD was ever here. I guess that leaves us to wonder if it survived the Death Star after all."

"And to figure out how to get you home." Mara looked straight at him as she said the words, no fear of him leaving visible in her eyes this time as there had been the first time he had tried to go.

He swallowed hard. "Yeah, that too."

.

.

They headed back to the ship, discouraged and silent with one another. The _Sabre_ was where they had left it, still under its shield. Luke went warily up the ramp, a quiet Mara trailing behind him. Her mood had darkened even further as they trekked back through the hot city.

They ran through the startups quickly and departed; the one nice thing about a giant black hole as a planetary backdrop was that there wasn't much traffic to queue into.

Luke's head hit the back of the co-pilot's seat as they hit lightspeed. The fact that he was no closer to getting back home assaulted him. He had been hopeful that Niargen could provide an answer, but he had clearly been in no condition to help him. He was obviously not of the same mentality as the man who had created the IDD those many years earlier. His cup map had turned out to be a bust, even if Luke still kept it in his cloak due to the familiarity of the lines on it. And now the new idea that he had been set up was gurgling in his mind, too fresh for him to share with Mara just yet.

Mara was silently fuming in her seat and he dreaded to look at her, to see the anger in her eyes. He could feel it coming off her in waves, not as strongly as he would have felt it were they bonded, but strongly enough that he grimaced. A pissed-off Mara Jade was a scary Mara Jade. He had known that since the very beginning.

She tapped at the autopilot and stood up to sweep from the cockpit before he could speak. He sighed and put a hand to his forehead. Should he go after her? He could feel the anger still. It wasn't dissipating as she moved away, but he didn't want to spend the rest of the flight home with her like this. He was stuck in her dimension now; what did that mean? He would never stop trying to get home to Ben, but who would he be to Mara and her kids? A stranger? A nobody? The thought terrified him.

He waited another few minutes, watching the starlines that gave him no answer as to what to do. He discarded his cloak and left the cockpit. He found Mara in the open lounge, performing a kata that he had often witnessed her perform when trying to expel excess negative energy.

"Mara?" he asked tentatively. She didn't answer but continued with her kata. He sighed and watched, his eyes tracing over the line of muscles in her arm as she moved. She was as beautiful as he remembered, and just as stubborn. "Mara, can we talk?"

Still she didn't answer. She twisted her arm up and around, releasing the tension in her shoulder as she lowered it to her waist. She looked at him and her mouth was a thin line on her face, the tension still evident there.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

With that she dropped her combat mode and gave him a blank stare. "You're sorry?"

"For so many things—the map to nowhere and getting us shot at not the least of it. I never wanted to drag you into anything like this."

Mara's eyes hardened. "You didn't—" She broke off in a laugh. "Skywalker, you created this whole mess by jumping universes in the first place!"

"But I never meant for anything like this to happen! I'm so sorry, Mara." And he was. He could feel through the Force more than just her anger. There was a feeling of despair and he knew that he was the cause of it. It hurt him to realize that he had upset her so badly.

"You're sorry?" she repeated. "You should be. You came here without invitation and turned my life upside down! You've shown me what I can't have and what I shouldn't want."

Luke winced. She was right, but he had told her that already and was getting sick of apologizing. "I thought we had moved past this, Mara. We already discussed how wrong I was to come here. But go ahead and tell me again. You've always been so good at telling me how wrong I am."

"Maybe your Mara was, but I'm not used to being in that position," she sneered. "My husband would never have put me in a situation like this. He never would have almost gotten me killed!"

"You're always throwing that into my face. Was he really so different from me? Or are you hiding behind that idea to keep your emotional walls in place? You forget Mara, I know you, just as well as you know me." Luke was breathing hard but felt relieved that she was arguing with him. This was familiar territory, even with a different Mara.

"If you know me so well why did you come here to find me? You should have known that I wouldn't have wanted that." Mara blew a breath out of her mouth when she finished.

Luke gave her an appraising look. "But see, Mara, I know that's not true. You like to pretend you don't need me, or want me, but you do. You always do."

Mara's eyes widened and she looked caught, so he wasn't surprised when the next words out of her mouth were meant to provoke. "Want you? I want my husband, and you aren't him. Just like I'm not your wife. They're both dead and they're not coming back! You're just going to have to get over her and deal with it!"

"You think I don't know that?" Luke's voice was deceptively calm as he ran a hand through his hair. "You think I didn't see her body in the morgue, kiss her cold lips? They were so cold, Mara…" His eyes fluttered closed as he remembered. "And all I wanted to know was why? Why would she do that? Why would she leave me with nothing more than a note? _Gone hunting for a few days. Don't be mad at me, farmboy… _ I can repeat the damn note word for word but I still don't understand it."

Mara's eyes narrowed as she listened to the words of her doppleganger's last note to her husband. Her brow furrowed. "She left a note?"

But he wasn't really listening. He paced the floor in front of her. "I mean, I just don't understand. I've puzzled it out. Intellectually I can understand that she did it for Ben, but to throw twenty years away, to not trust me…" He trailed off and turned, seeing Mara, looking at her as if he had never seen her before. "Why would you leave me in the middle of the night, with nothing more than a note, Mara?"

"_I_ didn't leave you!" Mara growled. She stalked close to him. "I am not your wife. I don't know why she left you like that, and I can't answer for her."

"Then I'll never know," he murmured.

"Not since you're stuck here, no." The light in her eyes betrayed the anger still flaring there.

"How many times do I need to apologize to you?"

"I don't want your apology. I want you to understand what you've done! How do you think I felt, watching that sleemo lift that pipe toward you, to hit you in the chest? Right where Luke was wounded?"

Luke's brow furrowed and he backtracked over the memories of the last few hours. He vaguely recalled the man they had chased raising a pipe in defense, but he had easily sheered it in half. It has never been a danger to him. "Mara, I had that under control."

He knew the words were the wrong ones the second they left his mouth. Mara's eyes flashed, the green fire in them more dangerous to him than any lightsaber.

"You had it under control? Just like everything else in your life, Master Skywalker? What about when you jumped on the back of that speeder, or, I don't know, when you left your son and jumped dimensions to find a woman who is not your wife? How in control were you then?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but Mara was on a roll. "What am I supposed to do with you now, Skywalker? Do you plan to come home with me and pretend to be my Luke? The father of our kids?" She brought her hand to her mouth and choked back a small sob, her eyes glassy in her red face.

He wanted to deny her words, but she was right. He was not her husband and would never claim to be. Would never try to take or fill his place. But the thought of being stuck in this galaxy, unable to be with her, to know she was so close but so out of his reach… "I don't know what I'm going to do now, Mara. All I know is the thought of being without you…" he trailed off. "Don't you know that's why I'm here? I've missed you," he said, repeating the words he said to her when he first arrived. "I miss you."

The air between them grew thick and Luke felt overly sensitized as he brought a hand out to grasp her arm. Her skin was smooth under his fingers and he rubbed his thumb in a small circle on her arm, amazed to just be touching her again, even so innocent of a touch.

Mara gasped and instinctively pulled her arm away, using the back of her hand to wipe against her eyes. She backed up but he followed, knowing that they were on a precipice here and he may never again get this chance. He grasped her arm again and pulled her to him, looking down into her eyes. She fought against his hold but he knew it was only for show; she could easily remove herself from his grasp if she really wanted to. His eyes skated over her beautiful face, the face he had loved so well. "Mara."

Her eyes flashed to his and she visibly crumpled before him, tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes. "Luke." She brought a hand to his face and caressed his cheek.

"Don't you understand, Mara? I did it because I missed her…you. Because every day without you felt like I was living a half life and it was killing me." He advanced on her and took his time to look at her, eyes tracing over features he had long since memorized. "And now I've gotten to know _you_, Mara. This version of you, so much the same as my wife, but also different. I know you're not her, but I long for you the same way I did for her. The thought of never seeing you again…never touching you, never speaking with you… I couldn't… can't… handle it."

The words were unspoken between them but he knew that she caught what he meant, that he didn't know how he could live in the same galaxy with her and not be her husband. This new reality was even more unsettling than the one he had left behind.

"You should have thought about that before!" she seethed, moving in to his personal space and staring up at him. "You should have thought about what it would do to me to see you again, the man that I want more than anything in this galaxy and can't have!"

Her chest was heaving as she finished her sentence and he didn't think, only reacted, just as she accused him of doing. He moved his grasp to her upper arms and pulled her to him, kissing her lips.

Fireworks exploded behind his eyes at the touch of her lips, so long missed and denied, only a hint of the passion in the kiss they shared when they had thought he was leaving. Her lips were slightly chapped and he pulled back to see if she were going to deck him or push him away. Instead she pushed back into him, kissing him this time, and her lips softened under the intensity of the kiss. He couldn't think any longer and could only take in the sensations, the familiarity of her perfect lips moving against his, her scent and silky skin under his hands. He loosened his grip just slightly to run his right hand up and into her hair. He caressed the skin at her hairline and tilted her head upward to his liking.

Mara groaned against his lips, opening her mouth to him even as her momentum pushed him back to the bulkhead wall. He collapsed against it and kept kissing her, the taste of her as addictive and sweet as he remembered. They pulled back for breath but he didn't let her get far, kissing a line from her mouth to her ear by way of her jaw. He breathed hotly into her sensitive ear, murmuring her name until she shivered against him.

She grabbed his face and pulled him back into a kiss, moving closer to him until her chest rubbed against his and her legs bumped against his own. He instinctively leaned down and grasped her under her bottom. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He turned and pushed her into the wall, never breaking his kiss with her.

White-hot need bled out from Mara's Force sense and he groaned into her kiss, the unreality of the situation escaping him as his body reacted to the touch of his wife. He was hard and enflamed and pushed up against her. A gasp escaped his throat at the exquisite sensation of pleasure. He hadn't been this turned on in a long time, hadn't wanted sex when the one he loved was gone.

But the Mara in his arms was no memory. She was as warm and as alive as he remembered, giving and taking from him only as she could. Her fingernails dug into his back through his shirt as he lifted her against the wall. He nuzzled his head into her neck and kissed her pulse point.

He held her suspended just above him on the wall. "Mara?"

She seemed to understand his unasked question. She kissed him again, parting his lips with her tongue and stroking it with her own. It was answer enough for him, but it wouldn't happen here.

He turned from the wall and carried her to her stateroom.

.

.

_Because fighting always leads to hot sex…. At least in my fandom world. ;) _Interlude 3: Love_ is the next chapter…_


	13. Interlude 3: Love

_There is a higher rated version of this available on my LJ. If you are over 18 you can find it behind the explicit adult content safeguards there. ginchy [dot] livejournal [dot] com. This is the PG version of the interlude, but it still picks up where Chapter 10 left off, with L/M heading to the bedroom. If that makes you uncomfortable, you can easily skip this interlude and pick up with chapter 11._

**Interlude 3: Love**

He reached a blind hand for the lights as they entered the stateroom, but Mara stopped him. "Leave them," she whispered. He complied, walking into the room steadily even as her lips caressed and nipped at his neck. After a few steps he fell to the bed with her, catching his weight on his arms to hover over her in the dim light that cast into the room from the hall. He didn't allow himself to think, to remember the times he had laid his Mara down on the bed in the stateroom of their ship. All that mattered was the beautiful woman in his arms, how warm and alive she felt under him.

He saw only invitation in her eyes and lowered his head to brush his lips against hers. The slow kisses lengthened in intensity, the wet slide of their lips the only sound in the quiet room. He couldn't get enough of kissing her and feeling her kiss him back, her taste as addictive as always. They moved together as they kissed, hands everywhere as they reacquainted themselves with flesh long denied.

He broke from her lips to kiss her cheek and throat, to let his lips slide against the collar of her shirt. Mara shifted closer as he began to tug at her blouse, ripping at the buttons impatiently. She gasped but brought her hands up to help him, and the shirt fell heedless to the floor. He groaned at the sight of her, so missed, but his eyes were riveted to the gold chain that had been hidden under her shirt. He reached a trembling hand out to pick up the chain, his fingers just barely brushing the soft skin of her chest. He looked at the two wedding bands that hung from the chain, and his heart constricted. He remembered accusing Mara of moving on too quickly, but here was more proof that she had not. He brought the smaller ring, Mara's ring, to his lips and kissed it.

Mara gave him a teary smile, but took the rings from his hand and pulled the chain over her head. She sat it on the bedside table and turned to him. "Always near my heart," she whispered, the words vulnerable and soft as they disappeared into the dark room around them.

Even still, Mara was surprising him as only she could. The desire to make love to her was stronger than ever as he reached out to run a finger down the center line of her chest and over the front of her bra. "Still so beautiful," he whispered, seeking to quell a flash of discomfort he saw in Mara's eyes. They had both been hot and sweaty on Crseih Station and he wanted her to know that didn't matter now. Even with wild hair and little make-up she was gorgeous. But it had been an even longer time since she had been with her Luke, and he wondered if she worried that she was too old or undesirable to him. He kissed her again, casting out with the Force to feed his lust into hers to let her know that she would always be the one he desired.

She gasped at the sensation and let out a ragged breath, raising her hands to his shirt and coaxing it over his head. He threw it to the floor and growled as she rolled them, coming to rest on top of him. Her nails scratched lightly down his chest, but her eyes turned solemn as she rested her palm over the scar where Shimmra's amphistaff had almost killed him, the same scar that had taken her husband's life. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself when she lowered her lips to the spot and kissed it, caressing it almost reverently with soft lips. He cupped her head with the palm of his hand, intending to pull her back into a healing kiss, but she had other ideas and continued her kisses down his chest to his stomach.

He groaned low in his throat at her blatant message to move things along. He grabbed her and tugged her back up to his mouth for a deep kiss, letting his own hands play now, wandering into her hair and then down her back.

"Oh, Luke," she murmured, breaking the silence that had grown between them since they entered the room. And the sound of his name on her lips, spoken in that intimate tone that belonged to him alone, sent him over and edge into an abyss from where there was no return.

The reunification of their bodies was slow and drawn out, even as an edge of hunger spiraled them toward completion. "Mara," he said, just to say her name. "Mara." The pleasure surrounding them was almost painful in its intensity. He was with Mara again and could scarcely believe it.

His eyes opened and burned into hers, seeking the connection of all they had lost. She clutched at his sweaty back, but even through her pleasure he noticed a tear at the corner of her eye. He kissed it away, murmuring to her that he understood. And he did.

Hesitantly, he reached for her in the Force, the absent bond the only thing marring the moment. Without the bond their Force senses could flow together, but not coalesce, and their every thought was not available to one another. It was somewhat of a strange feeling, being without their bond, but even still, she latched onto his Force sense and let her pleasure bleed through. .And in the middle of that blissful haze was her love, overpowering in its purity as it had always been.

Mara grasped his head and kissed him with bruising force, as if she were trying to brand him with her lips, her love. He tore from her mouth and dropped his head into her neck and breathed in her unique scent, still trying to grasp the reality of the situation. "I love you," he murmured to her. She gasped and called out his name in uninhibited bliss.

He followed her, the pleasure so intense that his body collapsed onto hers and he faded out for a moment, content and happy. He was back with Mara again. Back in love.

.

.

Mara dozed against his chest. He kissed her hair, unable to stop touching her. He was addicted to the silky smooth skin under his hands, to rememorizing all the features of her face and body. A few scars that he had known on his Mara were missing here, and there was a new one on her right shoulder that his Mara hadn't had. And yet while making love to her she had responded with the same passionate nature that his Mara always exuded.

He squeezed her to him, suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude that she existed, that Mara Jade had not been wiped from the universe completely. When she died he knew that she went on to the Force, and that she had lived on in Ben, but living without her in the cold galaxy had haunted him, the idea that she didn't exist any longer confusing and wrong.

A kiss against his chest pulled him from his thoughts and he looked down into green, mischievous eyes perched above the smirk he loved so well.

"I needed that," she confided, pushing and stretching against him.

He grinned. "Me too. And I'm glad we're not…" He paused to contemplate his word choice. "Awkward."

Mara dropped her head back to his chest and let her fingers wander over his stomach. "What's to be awkward about? You're the doppelganger of my dead husband and you jumped a galaxy in chaos to find me—Luke!" she cried out, her voice rising comically when he goosed her.

He laughed at her reaction and she laughed with him, but landed a stinging blow to his bicep. "It's things like that that make me call you Farmboy," she muttered, but she was smiling.

He basked in the warmth of that familiar nickname. She hadn't called him that since his aborted attempt to leave. "I always loved that you called me that," he said absently, running her hair through his fingers and admiring the threads of white that now intersected the gold in the brilliant red.

"I knew it," she said with a grin.

He couldn't resist kissing that grin and pulled her close, not wanting to ruin this moment by talking about the future or the predicament he—they—were in. He wanted nothing more than to take a few moments for himself, a few moments for Mara. These quiet moments were so rare for the both of them, and to have one together now was more of a gift than he could ever have imagined.

Mara's fingers traced over his face, skating over his jawline to the hair at his temples. She brushed her them into the flare of hair there and gave him a wicked smirk. "I like the gray," she murmured. "I often tried to imagine what he would look like as time went on…I think I underestimated how much I would like it."

He grinned and grabbed her hand, kissing the fingers. "I once told Mara I was starting to look like Palpatine," he said, tracing the fingers over his cheeks. "Too many lines on the face."

She gave him the same horrified and amused look Mara had long ago, during some mission dealing with the Killik threat. "Now you're just looking for compliments."

He barked out a laugh and hugged her close. He couldn't get enough of her, and rolled into her, kissing her softly, teasing her with his lips.

"You taste so good," she whispered. "I've missed kissing you…"

He groaned into her mouth and pulled her onto him, her bare skin so warm and soft under his fingers. They made slow and gentle love this time, caught up in the act of reaquantaince and the pleasure of remembrance.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," Mara cried out in the midst of their passion and her words and inhibition were like hidden treasures to Luke, gifts only for him.

He rolled over and pulled her up against him, sweaty bare skin pressed together as they came down from the high. With a panting breath he kissed her temple. "I love you," he whispered, somewhat surprised that she had said those words to him, but knowing that there was no other word that could encompass it. "Ever and always, Mara…"

Caressing his back, she kissed his neck in acknowledgement of his pledge, and held him close until they drifted off to sleep.


	14. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

Luke woke sometime later to find Mara staring at him, her hand warm and still on his belly. He grinned at her but fell back into a doze. He wasn't quite as young as he had once been and making love twice in less than that many hours had worn him out.

The next time he opened his eyes Mara was still beside him but was wearing his tunic. She had pulled a sheet up over their bodies. He frowned at her covering but admitted to himself that he liked seeing her in his clothes. She used to walk around in nothing but his loose shirts in their old quarters on Yavin IV, the wet heat driving her insane. And quite likely she had realized the sight of her in his shirts had driven _him_ insane. She did always like to bait him.

She was dozing herself, a small smile on those full lips that he loved. He couldn't resist brushing his lips over that smile and smiled even wider when her eyes fluttered open.

"Got your beauty sleep in, I see," she snarked.

His smile grew into a grin and he couldn't help but laugh. "How close are we to Coruscant?"

Her eyes darkened just slightly. "About half a day left."

He nodded, turning on his pillow to look at her lying on her side next to him. He wriggled his leg in between hers and looped an arm around her waist. "What happens then?" he asked, addressing the bantha in the bed with them.

"I don't know," Mara answered honestly, the words troubling her as her brow furrowed. "I hate that."

He let out an amused puff of air. "I know you do, my love. But I admit to not knowing myself. This situation is…unique."

Mara blew the fringe of her hair out of her eyes. "You can say that again." She let her fingers wander down his arm, tracing the line of it.

"I don't even know if you've…moved on," Luke murmured gently, burrowing further into the pillow, reveling in Mara's warm breath as it caressed his cheek. He looked at the space between them on the pillow and thought of how warm and cozy that space must be, smaller than it had been before.

Mara laughed quietly. "Little late to be asking that, isn't it, Farmboy?"

He grinned. "That's true. But thirteen years is a long time."

"Are you saying that you've…moved on?"

Luke moved the arm on her waist down and patted her bottom. "I think the fact that I'm here should tell you something," he answered dryly.

Mara smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She flopped her head on her pillow. "I…I did see someone, a few years ago."

Even though he had prepared himself for that answer, Luke's stomach still dropped. But he knew he was being unfair. Thirteen years was a long time and Mara's children had been so young when her Luke died.

"It felt so wrong, at first," Mara said, and he looked at her to see her eyes becoming glassy again.

He cupped her cheek. "Mara, it's okay. I…_he_ wouldn't want you to be alone. To be lonely."

She gave him a smirk and laughed through a choked throat. "Aren't you the generous one," she teased. Then she sobered. "I know that. But I just…it was Kyle."

"Katarn?" Luke asked. "I'll have to have words with him when I get back. Maybe send him into the Outer Rim on a mission for a few months."

Mara poked his chest. "You're jealous!"

"What's to be jealous of? His beard? I could grow one if I wanted."

She laughed, the sound delighting him. Her hand cupped his cheek and her thumb brushed against the softening beard stubble he hadn't the time to shave. "I don't think so, Farmboy. Besides…look at where I am now. That should tell _you_ something."

"Didn't work out?" he asked carefully, feeling surreal to even be talking with her about this.

She was silent as if weighing her thoughts. "No. We were sort of just friends…he really was there for me after Luke died. He had lost Jan and knew what it was to lose someone you loved so deeply."

"This was when she was presumed dead?"

"Presumed?" Mara's brow furrowed again. "No, Jan's gone. She was killed sometime before Luke."

"Another difference to this galaxy then," he murmured.

Mara nodded. "Anyway, we used to—joke. About loving and losing someone with a prosthetic right hand. How we missed those hands, that sort of thing. And it felt good to joke, to talk to someone who could understand…"

"I understand, really I do," Luke soothed, rubbing her back comfortingly.

Mara rolled her eyes. "Why do you have to be so…you?" She leaned into his embrace and kissed his neck. "But after awhile…it didn't work out. I was still in love with you, and he with Jan…we couldn't move forward like that." She kissed up his neck, over the cleft in his chin, to his lips. "You're an impossible act to follow, Luke. There's no getting over you."

He kissed her back, threading his fingers through her hair and holding her close. "If it makes you feel any better, there's a newly knighted Jedi who's been asking about me around the Temple."

Mara pulled back and eyed him. "Go for it, Farmboy," she said encouragingly. "Just tell her that your dead Master of a wife will be watching her from beyond the Force."

Luke chucked and kissed her forehead. "Now, Mara," he chided.

"You just had to get that in there, didn't you?"

"Perhaps," he allowed, before sighing. "This doesn't get us any closer to my original question, though."

Mara kissed his shoulder. "Shhh…I'm trying not to think about that."

Luke gave her a faux questioning look. "Who are you and what have you done with Mara Jade Skywalker?"

"Let's just say that I lost my husband many years ago, and I've deserved these quiet moments between us."

"The quiet and the not so quiet," he teased, smiling as she nudged him hard in the ribs. But she was smiling. "We both do," he murmured, turning serious, pulling her in to another kiss He entwined his fingers with hers as they continued to kiss, but after a moment she pulled away and nestled her head against his neck, her breath warm against his body.

She took his left hand and looked at the rings adorning it. His and Mara's. She let her fingers trace each ring slowly.

He swallowed hard and used his right hand to remove his wedding band from his finger. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as he took Mara's hand and wrapped it around the ring until it was nestled in her closed fist. "I want you to have that," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "It could never take the place of his ring, but I want you to have something of mine."

A tear leaked from the corner of Mara's eye and she cleared her throat, unable to speak. Instead she lifted her head from his shoulder and grabbed her golden chain and bands from the bedside table. She didn't look at him as she opened the clasp and slid his ring onto the chain until it clinked into place next to her husband's wedding band. She then took the smaller band off and held it out to him.

He held out the small finger on his left hand, the one that already had his Mara's ring on it. He smiled at the small pulse that lit the Force as Mara slid her ring onto his finger.

"Ever and always," she whispered, repeating his earlier vow as the ring clinked into place. She placed her necklace back around her throat and lay down beside him again.

They stayed that way a long time, curled up together in the state room. The rest of the galaxy seemed far away in those moments, and they intended to take full advantage of that fact if for just a little while longer.

.

.

A chime sounded when they were two hours out from Coruscant. Luke groaned, nuzzling his head into Mara's neck, breathing in deeply to imprint the scent and feel of her into his mind. Mara lifted her arm and wrapped it around his shoulders, digging her fingers into his hair and massaging. After a long moment she released him and stood from the bed, heading into the small fresher. "I'm going through the sonics," she said and let the door close behind her.

He realized that she needed a moment to herself. He could use a moment to clear his brain, too. Making love to Mara was as amazing as ever, an unexpected and most welcome gift. But he still wondered what his Mara would say about the situation. He closed his eyes with a smile to think of some of the jokes she may have made.

_Mara Jade, her doppelganger, and Luke Skywalker walk into a bar—stop me if you've heard this one, Farmboy…_

_I know most men have a fantasy of two women in their bed, but this is taking it a bit too literally, Farmboy…_

He also needed a moment because when Mara came back they would have to have The Talk. They had avoided it so far, but with his options of going home close to nil they would have to have it. Making love had probably complicated the matter but he wouldn't take that back, even if he had the chance. He felt more alive than he had in a long time. But now he was stuck in a galaxy with a woman who was not his wife but who he was in love with anyway. The fact that there were small differences between her and his Mara only made him more interested—every day with Mara had been an adventure and now there were new adventures to be had, old memories to learn and new memories to be made.

His heart still tugged to think of Ben, though. He could imagine and fantasize about a life here with Mara, but he could never and would never stop trying to get home to his son. Mara's own children, too, would never know of his presence here, unless he truly was stuck in this galaxy forever. Even though, how could he even approach them? Especially Betrys. Mara said that she had been devastated by her father's death. Ben had, too, but on a much different scale. Luke wasn't even sure if Ben even had any memories of his father.

He let his mind backtrack to the end of the Vong war, when he was infirmed from the amphistaff wound and had taken time to heal on Zonoma Sekot. In those days he had seen visions, visions of a future that had shown him Ben and the path his life could take. Only the fall of his nephew had changed that future and now Ben was thrust into an uncertain galaxy much like Luke had been forty years before. It was not the galaxy he wanted for his only child. But in those moments on the wandering planet and then later, when they had been reunited with the toddler that had replaced the chubby baby they had left behind in the Maw, a future of happiness and loved had seemed assured. It seemed as if the terrible rends in the Force could be fixed, sewn together by his sheer will to see his son live a life unlike Luke's own. A life without strife.

And now Ben was in another dimension, on Adumar, so far away from where Luke was this night.

His eyes strayed to the shower door and he thought of Mara, one half of his heart. Ben was the other half, born of the love he held for Mara. No, he could never stop trying to get back home to his son.

But leaving Mara behind, if he ever did find a way—that, that would break his heart all over again.

.

.

Mara exited the fresher and ushered him in. He couldn't resist wrapping her in his arms as he passed her, lured by her sweet clean scent, fresh from the sonics. She sighed as if put out but kissed his bicep, rubbing her face against his arm. Her eyes looked clear and untroubled, but a tiny furrow in her brow told him she had been thinking just as he had.

He put it out of his mind and cleaned up, donning the last pair of clean clothing that he had. He paused in the mirror to comb his hair, and touched a small red patch of skin at his shirt's collar. A visible reminder of what had happened between him and Mara. He smiled at the bruise and buttoned an extra button, keeping his secret to himself.

Mara was in her captain's chair when he headed to the cockpit. He settled into the second seat and checked the course as matter of route. Still an hour and a half out. He sighed. "So…"

Mara clucked her tongue. "There's a lot in that little word, Farmboy."

He smiled faintly. "I know. I just…what do we do now? I can't stop trying to get home, but what if…what if I can't?"

"There has to be a way," Mara said automatically. "I can't imagine the device would just trap you here forever with no way back. Maybe another scientist—"

"Yes, but those are all maybes."

"When did our situations reverse?" Mara asked. "Me, the optimist? I just don't think…I just think you'll get back home to your Ben."

"I hope so," he murmured. "'Course maybe he'll like being dadless for a bit. No one to tell him to clean up after himself, or corny jokes, or to embarrass him."

"Hm, teenagers," Mara said. "Hard to believe we were once this young and some of us helped to bring down an Empire."

"That's true," he said with a laugh. "I never really thought of it that way. I just have such a hard time with Ben sometimes. I love him and I know that he loves me, but since Mara…it's been tough."

Mara looked troubled. "I can't imagine. My poor Ben. He feels things so deeply—he gets that from you. With his mother having been…murdered…I can only imagine that made it worse."

"Things were rough before that. I showed you some of it when we shared images in the Force, but you may not have understood what you saw. Jacen was manipulating Ben. Had turned him into an assassin."

Mara gasped, her eyes hardening.

"It all had come to a head, and Mara…she could see more than I could. I just couldn't believe that my nephew, my apprentice…"

"What happened to Ben?"

"He found her," Luke said. "After her death. She had been hit with a poison dart and was sitting against a wall, looking like she could have been asleep, he said. He spent time with her there…I can't even imagine what he went through in those moments."

Tears shimmered in Mara's eyes, but she didn't speak. He continued. "I've been so wrapped up in my own grief. When our bond snapped I didn't know how to react, how to feel. I had always assumed that the bond wouldn't allow for one of us to live while the other died. And that sudden absence…so quiet." He touched his forehead. "It's been so quiet."

"I know."

"And now I realize how wrong I was. I tried to reach out to Ben, but not enough. I was in a dark place, my head not on right, and our son…I've failed our son, Mara."

Mara was silent for a moment. She worried her lower lip slightly before speaking. "Once, during the Vong war, Luke and I talked about the future for Betrys and Ben, should something happen to one of us. About assuring our future through our kids…"

But as Mara kept talking, suddenly it was _his_ Mara's voice in his head, asking him to take care of Ben should anything happen to her, to make Ben the center of his heart and universe as he was to her. _Then no matter what, the future's assured,_ she had said when he agreed.

"…I think that's why she left you with just a note," Mara was saying as he came back to the conversation. "She knew that, if she told you where she was going or what she was doing, you would stop her. One look into your eyes and she wouldn't be able to go through with it. But for Ben…for your son…she would have done anything, including leaving in the middle of the night to face the unknown. Like me, she would have done anything for her child." Mara paused, turning to look him in the eye. "I'll do all I can to help you to get home to your son."

Luke swallowed hard, and reached out for Mara's hand. She took it and squeezed, sealing that vow.

.

.

.

.

.

_A note on Kyle and Jan: What I know about them could fit a thimble. But the fact that Jan had a prosthetic right hand made me think that Mara and Kyle could snark on that fact and build somewhat of a relationship for a time. If anything is amiss with that, let me know._


	15. Chapter 12

_a/n: I am finished writing EoA! Now you'll get more updates! I'm still fine tuning a few things but it has been completely beta'd already, too. **JediMara77 **deserves a huge chunk of praise for editing the heck out of this thing and making it much better than it could have ever been! I will be posting two times a week now, until the story is finished, probably on Mondays and Fridays. I hope you'll enjoy and thank you for all the wonderful comments and reviews.  
><em>

**Chapter 12**

After a drawn-out moment Luke squeezed her hand and let it go, clearing this throat. Mara's vow to help him get back to Ben had given him new hope that he would get home to his son after all. Mara turned back to the ship's navicomputer and he studied her, watching her hands as she checked the course, a matter of rote. He liked watching her work, the quiet moment between them a comfortable one. But thinking of Ben led him to think of Mara's children.

"What do we do when Ben and Betrys come home?" He wasn't just asking to make small-talk, though part of him could admit that he just liked saying Betrys's name aloud.

Mara barely faltered in her movements, but Luke noticed a tightening around her eyes. He could understand. Seeing him was a shock to her and even with the joy she had found in being with him, she didn't want to bring that pain on her children.

"Let's take you before the Council first," Mara said, turning in her seat to look at him. "Then we'll make the hard decisions."

Luke nodded in acceptance and saw those lines around Mara's eyes diminish again. He picked up his robe from the back of the chair and shrugged it on, the cockpit a bit cool for his liking. He pawed at a strange lump in his pocket, realization dawning as he pulled Niargen's cup from it. He looked once more at the lines that still seemed in some way familiar.

"Maybe the map will lead you home." Mara was eyeing the cup, too.

He nodded, holding it up for her inspection. "I should just throw it away, but something about the 'map' is familiar. Wishful thinking, probably."

"Maybe," Mara said. "But I've been thinking…what if the map wasn't a map of Creish Station after all?"

"What do you mean?" Luke peered at the cup, trying to look at it with new eyes. "That maybe it's a map of Coruscant or someplace else?"

"Exactly. It could be anywhere. He didn't tell us where to begin. We just assumed it began at the asylum."

"And now we just have to find our starting point," Luke said absently. He was opening himself to the Force as he spoke, staring at the cup and trying to reconcile the lines and points.

As he opened himself widely to the Force and the energy expanded outward, he was again confronted with that same feeling he had during his first twenty-four hours in this galaxy. The feeling that something was _off_, different here than in his own time and place. His heartbeat accelerated as he followed the feeling, stretching out with the Force over great distances only to encounter something dark.

It was an oily, suffocating feeling that he hadn't sensed for years. Something he never wanted to sense again. He took a deep breath, stifled as the darkness seemed to recognize him, seemed to grow a face and turn to look at him. The lines on the cup merged with the place from which the darkness originated, and a single word fell from Luke's lips—

"Byss."

.

.

Luke blinked, pulling out of the Force. His lungs felt constricted and tight and he struggled to breathe.

"Luke?"

He turned and saw Mara's concerned face. Just the sight of her allowed him to expel a harsh breath and calm his mind, if not his heart.

As the darkness dissipated, his vision, or whatever it had been, started to seem less real. He wondered if he could have imagined it, wished that he had imagined it. "I'm okay," he said, reassuring her.

The skeptical look on Mara's face was almost enough to make him smile. "What did you see? And what did you mean by 'Byss'?"

Luke shivered at that word on her lips, realizing that she hadn't felt the same darkness he had. The lack of their Force bond was unsettling. Now it was up to him to tell her about Byss and all of the baggage that went with it.

And he was suddenly unsure of so many things. In his galaxy, Byss had been one of Palpatine's strongholds. He had gone there to confront the Reborn Emperor, but had ended up getting sucked in the dark side. He shuddered at the thought.

But what had he just felt, exactly? If it was Palpatine, as he first suspected, why was his presence so clouded? Luke thought he would have been able to clearly sense Palpatine's presence. Now that he thought about it, this disturbance didn't feel the same as what he'd felt on Endor or Byss, but it felt dangerous nonetheless. Had one of Palpatine's acolytes survived? Had Palpatine tried to inhabit a clone body but been unsuccessful? Were there other Sith there? There were so many options, but one thing was clear—there was something dark, something wrong on Byss, and it had to be stopped.

He wondered how Mara would take the news that, at least in his reality, her late Master had survived in some manner after Endor. This was a woman who had shed her doubts about her past earlier in life than his Mara. She had married and had a child years before his Mara had opened her heart to the ideas of love and marriage. A lot of her hesitation could be attributed to his own actions, he knew, especially on Byss.

He looked into Mara's eyes, noting the slight narrowing of the corners. She was waiting, and not patiently, for an answer. But his heart seized in his chest. He didn't want to tell her about his failure with the Reborn Emperor, about his own brush with darkness.

If he were truthful with himself, he didn't want to tell her about _any_ of this.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. "Byss is a planet in the Deep Core…you may never have heard of it."

Mara wiggled her fingers in a 'come on' gesture.

"Mara, I don't know how to tell you this…" Luke trailed off and closed his eyes. "I don't even know if what I just felt was real. Or maybe I know it's real and I don't want it to be."

"From the look on your face, I think whatever you saw was real. Just tell me."

Luke sighed. "I realized why the lines on Niargen's map were familiar. I recognized them. They're coordinates—star lines. And they seem to match those of the planet Byss."

Mara nodded and turned to the starmap, inputting Byss's name and watching as a holo of the planet beamed from the viewing screen. She took the cup from Luke's hand and held it up to the image. "They do seem to match. I guess my question for you is what exactly is on Byss and why does it scare you so much?"

He knew that, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't hide the truth from her. "It scares me because in my galaxy, Byss was the Emperor's last holdout. He had a citadel there, housing a supply of clones. Since I've been in this galaxy something has felt off to me in the Force, and just now I think I realized what it was."

"You can't be saying that Palpatine's alive," Mara said incredulously. "Wouldn't I have felt that?" Luke felt a pang of sadness, remembering how his own Mara had claimed the same thing. "No, he's dead," she said after a long pause. "And has been for a long time."

"I'm not convinced it's him, but I felt something dark. I know it seems strange. Crazy even. But I can only tell you what happened to me and what I just felt."

"Well, I know it's not him. He's dead."

The absolute conviction on Mara's face finally brought a shadow of a smile to Luke's. "My Mara didn't believe it either."

"She didn't?"

"No. She knew I had faced something—someone—very powerful in the Force, but didn't believe it was actually Palpatine."

"She wasn't there with you?"

"No, this happened just after the events of Wayland. The Empire had attacked Coruscant and I felt this strange call in the Force… did this happen to your Luke?"

"No." Mara was shaking her head but her eyes were far away, as if she was backtracking over events. "Right after Wayland we came back to Coruscant and I worked for the Smuggler's Alliance while he started looking into setting up the Academy. We saw each other whenever we were on Coruscant at the same time…then we began to date…and you know the rest."

Luke nodded. She had gotten pregnant with Betrys and their lives had taken a major turn. But what would have kept Palpatine from using a clone body and trying to retake the Empire? Did he even know about essence transfer in this reality? Again Luke doubted his vision, but he still couldn't deny it. "I felt a strange call and traveled to Byss, where I confronted the Reborn Emperor. Eventually, with Leia's help, we were able to overpower him, to kill him. But it was a close call."

"This seems like a very sore subject for you." Mara reached out and tapped the white knuckles of his hand, curled tightly around the arm rest of his chair.

"Yes," he said, forcing himself to loosen his grip. "It is." He couldn't say the rest…what else had happened there.

Mara took his hand and rubbed her thumb over the knuckles in a soothing touch. "I didn't feel what you did, but I believe you when you say that there's something dark on Byss. Something the Jedi should look into. It seems that Niargen is pointing us there for a reason. Perhaps the other IDD is there."

"With the Emperor," Luke murmured, unable to deny the possibility and thinking of the heavy price of going home.

"Or some other dark Force user," Mara countered.

Luke looked at the map of Byss in front of him. "I thought you'd be…frightened. Upset by this news."

"I stopped letting Palpatine run my life years ago. The only fear I have comes from the fear I see on your face. But I am concerned about the situation. I know that the Force doesn't lie to you. Like I said earlier, I'll contact the Council when we return."

"And tell them what, exactly?"

"We have to think practically, Luke. I can't keep you hidden from the Jedi forever…and if there is a dark Force user out there, or another Sith, we have to tell them."

Luke nodded. "I agree. And the more I think about this, the more I wonder if maybe I'm here for a bigger reason than just my desire to see you."

"What do you mean?"

"You wouldn't have known about Byss if I hadn't come here. There is something dark there, something you need to know about. What if I'm here to help prevent—"

Mara cut in. "Prevent other battles or problems here that occurred in your galaxy?"

"That's right. Maybe I'm here to stop things before they can start…" He trailed off, thinking. There were so many battles and skirmishes he had participated in over the years; it was hard to keep track of them and the impetus to each.

Mara had grown quiet. He looked up to find her face blank as she shut down the map and stared out into the passing starlines. As if feeling his gaze, she spoke without turning to him. "You're here because _you_brought yourself here, Luke. As hard as it is for me to say it and you to hear it, we've gotten along fine without you, for a long time now."

His eyes widened but he didn't interrupt.

"I often told you—him—that he couldn't take the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders. That it had been here before him and would outlast him. I didn't realize how true my words were, about the galaxy outlasting him. And he did more for the galaxy in his forty-eight years than most do in an entire lifetime. But you're not here to right the wrongs of your galaxy. You came here to find me and, I think, to find some peace."

She reached out a hand to clasp his again, turning from the starlines to face him. "I was so angry with you for coming here, but I've forgiven you—I know the pain that you're in. I share it. But please don't turn this time we have together into some misguided mission. Your only focus now should be to get home to Ben."

Silence descended between them. In that moment Mara reached for him in the Force, allowing him to feel her love. More than that, he felt the pride she felt in her husband and…in _him_.

"How do you always know to remind me?" he asked thickly, squeezing her hand.

"Remind you of what?"

"That I'm just a man," he said with a smile. "Just a man."

Mara shook her head. "You're a father, Luke, and you were a husband. A brother, uncle, friend, and Jedi. You're more than 'just' a man, but no man's shoulders are big enough for the fate of two galaxies."

"But what about Byss?"

"Like I said, I'll contact the Council when we return. We'll figure it out. We'll have to speak with them anyway…they may be able to help you find your way home."

Luke thought of all of his friends in the Order and what they would think about this news. But the thought of going to them made him relax. He had faced Byss alone the last time, until Leia had forced the issue. Mara was right in wanting to involve the Council. The Force felt calm and serene regarding the issue, telling him that he was right to wait, to not rush in ill-prepared. It was against his nature to wait, but he resolved to listen to the Force this time. Especially concerning Byss. Releasing his anxiety, he turned to Mara with a slight grin. "So are you telling me that you don't want a list of things from my galaxy to watch out for?"

"Well," Mara said, biting back a smile of her own, "that probably couldn't hurt. And I may have a few things to tell you about."

"Me?"

"Don't you think it works both ways? Did you ever face down a group of Ewoks bent on galactic domination with your Mara?"

Luke slyed his eyes to her. "I hope you're joking."

"Oh, Farmboy. If only I were…"

.

.

It was evening when they landed back on Coruscant. Even though Luke was no longer as worried about Byss, he still carefully tucked Niargen's cup into his robe pocket. They both had a lot of thinking to do on the issue, but the Council would need at least two days to be called together. In the meantime he looked around the _Sabre, _knowing he might never see it again. He remembered being so proud to give this ship to his Mara. "Hey," he asked, glancing to Mara as she finished her post-flight check. "When did Luke give you this ship?"

"Oh, it was for our ten year anniversary. I had recently crashed my ship into the Hand of Thrawn fortress—why are you smiling, Skywalker?"

Luke shook his head, still grinning. "Just memories," he murmured. "Memories."

Luke donned his Force disguise again and they headed back to the Temple, entering through Mara's secret passageway. He knew that he might soon be able to drop his disguise in the Temple, but pushed the thought away. Byss and Council meetings were things he didn't want to think about, and apparently neither did Mara. They stopped on the way for takeout and sat in the living room of her suite, eating and talking about nothing in particular. It was the kind of evening Luke had always savored with his wife, the type of evening they too seldom were able to indulge in.

The diner they stopped in specialized in small fortune biscuits that were popular among tourists and takeout customers. His Mara had always rolled her eyes at them, generally making fun of the highly saccharine fortunes. As such, he smiled when she reached for her biscuit and broke it open, pulling the small piece of flimsy out.

_Your True Love is within your reach. _

She rolled her eyes and tossed away the flimsy, eating the rest of the biscuit in one bite. After she had chewed it she eyed Luke, who was sitting on the floor near her legs, back against the couch. "Good thing I didn't get that fortune while I was with Kyle."

He rolled his own eyes, but laughed. "I can put myself a little closer to your reach…"

Mara smirked. "Open your fortune," she said, nudging him with her knee. He did.

_You'll soon be embarking on a long journey. _

He looked up at her solemnly, holding the fortune in his hand. Mara rolled her eyes again. "Who needs the Force when you have fortune biscuits?"

"It remains to be seen if my fortune will actually prove correct," he couldn't help but point out. At that moment, the possible Sith on Byss seemed almost a forgotten memory as the warmth of being near Mara lulled him into a sense of security. He couldn't help but tease her. "Yours, at least, is true…"

"Are you so sure about that?" Mara teased, dropping her hand to his hair and scratching softly at his scalp.

He dropped his head against the seat of the couch to look at her. "Surer than I've ever been of anything."

Mara's eyes were closed, but her trademark half smile was evident on her face. "It's still so odd to be here with you. Because as much as you are like my Luke, you aren't him." Mara looked down at her fingers, brushing them against the fringe of his hair. "Even though you look just like him, and sound just like him," she let her fingers brush lower, across his lips. "And make me feel the way he did…"

He pursed his lips and kissed her fingers, his words solemn as he spoke. "I would never want to take his place. He was your husband, the father of your children…this was his life, not mine. But I can't help but think that if our situations were reversed, he would find any way he could to get to you—my Mara—too."

"Yes, well, like you he was a hopeless romantic." Mara chuckled, but her eyes shimmered suspiciously. She placed her hands under his shoulders and pulled him up onto the couch next to her.

He laughed softly but let himself be pulled, twisting to right himself as he moved into a sitting position next to Mara. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and let his fingers trail down it, rubbing the individual strands with his fingers. "Would you laugh—or roll your eyes—if I told you that I have a lock of Mara's hair in my pocket?"

Mara squashed a smile. "I would call you a hopeless romantic," she repeated herself, leaning in and kissing him softly on the lips. "Can I…can I see it?" He pulled the small braid of hair from his pocket, the bright red gold braid free of the white hairs that would come later. He held it in the palm of his hand and let Mara inspect it. "Did she know you had it?"

"Yes, and she laughed at me for it."

"I have to admit that it's a little…weird…to see," she said. "You don't have any other strange mementos, do you, Farmboy? Toenail clippings? Belly button lint?"

His cheeks heated but he shook his head with a good natured smile. "Left those at home," he said with a wink.

Mara laughed. "I've missed that," she said. "You making me laugh."

"I've missed your laughter."

"I've missed the way you used to wake me up with kisses and a cup of caf."

"I've missed the way you would say my name at unexpected moments. I always loved the sound of my name on your lips."

"Well, _Luke_," she emphasized his name and smirked, "one thing I can say I haven't missed is your lectures on the Force."

"Oh, no?" He reached out with the Force and lightly tickled her sides with invisible fingers, massaging his way up her arms to her shoulders and hair. "What about the lectures on responsible use of the Force? Wait, that's right, _you_ taught me that."

"_She_ did…" Mara murmured.

Luke licked at his lower lip. He expected an awkward pause at that mention, but Mara just quirked her half-smile at him.

"But it's a good lesson to learn," she continued, leaning in so close that he could feel her breath on his face. "Invisible fingers are nice, but the real thing…" She wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

Their lips met and parted, Mara moaning as he deepened the kiss. He allowed her to control it, moving his head to her liking. She pushed him back on the couch and he settled into the curve of the arm, cupping her back and letting his hands wander as they continued their kiss.

He felt so right again, at home in Mara's arms. He could stay there indefinitely, kissing her and letting her kiss him back. This completion of spirit was so long missed and he would never be able to duplicate it with anyone else. He groaned and pulled her closer, pushing one leg in between hers, thoughts of Byss and meetings with the Jedi Council far away.

"Wait!" Mara said abruptly, pushing up on him, gasping for breath. Her eyes were wild as she glanced toward the door. She jumped up from him. "Luke, get up!"

"What?" he said, sitting up automatically. "Mara, what—"

But she didn't get a chance to reply as the door to the suite opened and in walked Betrys and Ben Skywalker.

"Mom? Surprise!" Ben yelled.

But Luke's eyes were riveted to Betrys, Mara's daughter, who looked at him and threw a hand to her mouth as her face registered her shock.

He threw a concerned look to Mara when Betrys dropped her hand and cried out, "Dad?"


	16. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The shock on the faces of the children tugged at Luke's heart and assaulted him almost violently in the Force. He was still masking his presence but could feel the vibration of the Force around him. The children were amazingly strong in it, just like his own son. He wondered how many nearby Jedi had felt their shock and what the consequences of that could be.

Time seemed to slow for a moment. He got a good look at both of Mara's children, though calling them children didn't seem correct. Young adults, more realistically, though Betrys was actually almost thirty-one years old. Older than he had been when he had met Mara. That thought made him feel very old.

She was beautiful, this daughter he never had. She was definitely Skywalker, in the set and shape of her face, with her high cheekbones and her dark blonde hair. She had her mother's clear green eyes. Even the narrowing of her gaze was pure Mara. Though she looked like a good mix of himself and of Mara, there was something more there, a look all her own or perhaps the look of Mara's side of the family about her mouth and forehead. After Ben was born, Mara had made the comment that sometimes she felt she was seeing her own mother or father in him. Luke was sure this Mara had felt the same about her first child.

Betrys carried herself as a Jedi Knight, a saber at her waist. He noticed Artoo-Detoo standing right behind her and thought about Mara's comment that Artoo followed Betrys around like he had Luke. The thought made him glad. Just next to Artoo stood Ben and he, too, held himself as a Jedi. It tugged at Luke's heart even more to see Mara's son, as he was an exact copy of the son he had left behind, bright red hair even cut in the same style. Ben could pass for his son's identical twin and it made him long for the child he might never see again. He had to stop himself from reflexively stepping forward and hugging the boy.

He turned his head slightly to see Mara, mouth open but no sound coming out. She had been against the kids ever seeing him and he hated that this had been thrust on her. But he didn't speak, waiting for her to break the silence first.

"What in blazes is going on here?" Betrys growled. "I thought…you look…"

Ben looked just as thunderstruck as he did. "Dad?"

Luke dropped his head to his chest, tears prickling at his eyes. How he wanted to say 'yes' and validate the hope in Ben's eyes. In Betrys's.

"This is not your father," Mara finally spoke up, regaining some of her composure. "But he is Luke Skywalker."

"Clear as mud, Mom," Ben muttered, still staring at Luke. "What the kriff?" Artoo beeped, seemingly in agreement with Ben.

Mara let the curse slide. "As hard as it is to believe, he's Luke Skywalker, but from a different dimension."

"Okay, I'll bite," Betrys said. "What's he doing here?" Her eyes shot back to his but she looked away quickly, almost as if it hurt to look at him.

Luke spoke up for the first time. "I used a…device to travel here. It allows for inter-dimensional travel. My wife… My Mara… passed away. I came here, seeking her again. I realize how this must sound. But the device is broken now and I'm trying to find a way home. Your mom is helping me—"

"Let me get this straight," Ben cut in. "You came here for an inter-dimensional kriff?"

"Ben!" Mara scolded, her face red and tight with tension.

Ben didn't back down though, a Jade to the core. "Well, isn't tomorrow yours and Dad's anniversary, Mom? That's why we came home early, so you wouldn't have to be alone. We thought we would surprise you. I guess the joke was on us."

Mara shook her head. "Look, I know you're upset, angry even. So was I when he first came here. But even though he's not really your father, he is your father from another place and time."

"I can't believe you're so calm about this, Mom!" Betrys burst out. "I was…I can't even tell you the emotions I've gone through in the last few minutes. Too see him and he looks so much like Dad only to find out he's my Dad but not really? What are we supposed to think?"

"Come sit down, let's talk about this like rational adults."

"I'm not sure I want to do that," Betrys muttered. Ben nodded, apparently completely in his sister's corner.

And though Luke's heart ached, he smiled inwardly at Ben's nod to his sister. It warmed his heart to think of Ben having an older sibling, even as it hurt him to think of _his_ Ben, all alone in his galaxy.

"Well, too bad. Sit," Mara said in her mom voice, the voice that had never failed to make Ben stop whatever he had been doing to obey. Luke realized he had never quite mastered that particular voice or ability.

Betrys looked at war with herself but sat on the edge of the chair by the couch, Artoo rolling to a stop beside her. Ben flopped on the couch and picked up a sweet roll from their discarded dinner, popping it into his mouth and chewing.

Luke knew the only way to prove to them that he was who he claimed to be was to show them through the Force. They may have believed their mother but needed more proof.

"I can prove to you who I am, the same way I did for your mother," he offered.

"I'll pass," Ben said, his voice leaving little doubt as to how he thought Luke's identity had been proven.

Luke flushed, but didn't back down. "Through the Force, Ben," he said, his voice cracking over his son's name.

Betrys glanced at her mother and received a nod before turning to eye her brother. She nodded and he made a face, but agreed, too.

Using the skills he had acquired in hiding himself from the Force but still establishing a bond with individual people, he carefully reached out a Force strand to both Betrys and Ben. Betrys had amazing shields and initially rebuffed him, but eventually caught the strand of memory and allowed it to show her who he was, and what he was doing there in her galaxy. Ben faltered a little with the task, but managed after seeing his sister participate.

He didn't show them specific memories as he had with Mara, but let more of a feeling flow to them, letting them sense his place in the Force and how he was a man named Luke Skywalker, even if he wasn't the Luke Skywalker they had known and loved.

The decision to not show them specific memories was a last minute one, as he realized the implications of showing Betrys a galaxy in which she did not exist. The thought struck him as too sad to contemplate and he did not want her to bear that burden, to wonder if perhaps Ben was the only Skywalker child meant to be. He wasn't sure how to speak to her without revealing the information, but he would sooner run himself through with a saber than tell his—Luke's—daughter that she was a stranger to him.

A quiet sniffle surprised him and he looked to see Betrys wiping a tear from her eye. "You feel just like him," she said softly. "So much like my Dad."

His own eyes flooded with tears then. He expected more recrimination from her, more anger. But perhaps she could see that he had never meant to cause them or Mara any pain, that even if he had made the wrong choice it was a choice born of love.

"I'm so sorry that I'm not him," he said to her. "More than you can possibly know."

Ben watched impassively and stuck the last sweet roll into his mouth. "What do you mean you're stuck?"

Betrys turned to her younger brother. "What?"

"Earlier. He said he was stuck here now. What exactly does that mean?"

Mara shook her head at her children. "It means what it sounds like. He's stuck here because the machine that brought him here malfunctioned." She left out that he had been unintentionally led to believe false instructions and he wondered if they would have to tell them that later on.

"Actually," Luke cut in, "I have something to tell you about that, Mara. I started to suspect it on Creish Station, but wasn't sure how to bring it up."

"Creish station?" Ben asked. "Where's that?"

"Outer Rim," Betrys told him just as Mara turned narrowed eyes on Luke.

He took her narrowed gaze to be a question and answered it. "While we were there I talked to the guy who shot at us."

"When was this?" Mara asked immediately.

"When you were dealing with the authorities over the crash."

"What the—what's been going on since we've been gone, Mom?" Betrys tried to cut in, but they didn't answer her.

"What did he say?" Mara asked crisply, sending her daughter a 'not now' expression.

"He said that he had been paid to shoot at anyone who visited Niargen…by a man who was very good at sabacc."

"So?" Mara said. "Get to the point, Farmboy."

Luke didn't miss the astonished look that Betrys shot at Ben over the nickname. He sighed. "The man I arrested and took the machine from—he was a notorious gambler. And this is flimsy evidence at best, but the Force is telling me it's true—I was set up to come here, Mara. None of it was by chance."

.

.

"What do you mean, 'set up'?" Betrys asked before Mara could form the words.

"I mean that I was put in this situation not entirely of my own volition. Natasi Daala became Chief of State recently and she is distrustful of the Jedi. She and I have been going round and round on it. She believes that a just and balanced government, one that was fair, would have no need for the Jedi Order, no matter how often I explain to her that we do not bow to the government nor work within their regulation."

"The recent Sith that you had in your galaxy couldn't have helped," Mara pointed out.

Ben choked on the rice he was eating from the box of takeout. "A Sith? But they're extinct. Grandfather brought balance to the Force with his death. Every crechling knows that."

Luke was grateful that Mara hadn't pointed out the identity of the Sith in his galaxy, as he was this Ben's Master, too. "That balance hasn't worked out quite so well in my time," he said, looking at Ben, forgetting for a moment that he was not his son. The overly long arms and legs were endearing, but Ben was growing into his body. He was a young man now and Luke blinked, thinking of the chubby baby he and Mara had left at the Maw. He had missed so much of his son's early life and now he might miss the rest of it due to Daala and his own stubborn heart.

"But I don't understand," Betrys said, picking up the thread of conversation. "How are there Sith at all in your galaxy, unless…did Grandfather never defeat the Sith?" She touched her head to her temple as if the information or idea of it hurt. He couldn't blame her. Especially now with the situation on Byss. He noticed that Mara hadn't mentioned their suspicions of something dark lying in wait at Byss and decided to let her be the one to bring it up. There was no reason to alarm the kids yet.

"No, he did. In the skies over Endor he killed Palpatine to save me and then died himself, becoming Anakin Skywalker again in the process. But for many years after his death there were Dark Jedi in the galaxy. There were Sith teachings and spirits that were found and used by those who didn't understand what they were doing." Like me, he thought. His failure with the Dark Side would always haunt him. His time with Mara and her understanding had helped, but he still heard Master Yoda's words deep within his mind and regretted that the Dark Side now touched him so deeply, even thirty years out. But forever was an even longer time.

"It sounds like your galaxy is a lot different from ours," Betrys said. "But why would Daala send you away like this? Why not just kill you? This seems awfully orchestrated. Too orchestrated."

Luke thought about that for a moment. "I think there are a few reasons she didn't want to kill me outright. If she'd had me murdered, she would risk being uncovered and turning me into a martyr. But if she could tempt me away by giving me something I desperately wanted, all the better, right?"

"Plus, she knows right where you are just in case she ever has need of you," Mara added darkly.

"That would mean there's a way back," Luke mused.

"It could be as simple as someone else with an IDD carrying you back. Remember Naelli and how his device was stolen from him."

Luke nodded at her, remembering that conversation. He didn't miss the look Ben was giving Betrys, both of them wondering what their mother had been up to since they had been gone.

"How long have you been here?" Ben asked him.

"Six days."

"Were you even going to tell us you were here?" Betrys asked, her voice gone soft again.

Luke didn't know how to answer, but Mara jumped in for him. "No. I wasn't going to let him. I tried to send him back that first day, but there were complications."

"Yeah. He looks just like Dad," Betrys said.

"I mean _other_ complications," Mara said, but Betrys gave her a skeptical look. Mara shook her head. "It's late. I think we should go to bed and deal with this tomorrow."

"Where's he sleeping?" Ben muttered, looking at Luke. Not waiting for an answer, he got up and left the room.

Betrys sent Luke an apologetic look. "He's just overwhelmed. I guess I'll go back up to my room. I'll see you in the morning?"

Mara nodded and hugged her daughter. "I'm glad to see you. I had planned to celebrate your birthday when you came back. We'll have to do something tomorrow."

Betrys smiled faintly, returning the hug. "Okay, Mom. Goodnight." She looked down at her droid. "Come on, Artoo." Artoo shrilled out a response, his mechanical eye moving up and down as he looked at Luke. "Yes, we're leaving now," she said to the droid, sneaking a look at Luke herself. "Night," she murmured to him before escaping out the door.

Mara heaved out a sigh when the door closed behind them.

"Mara, I'm so sorry," Luke began, reaching out to grasp her arm. "I know you didn't want them to find out this way."

"They were going to know sooner or later," she said. "It would be kind of hard to hide you forever. I guess we need to work on a plan of action. Do we reveal you to the galaxy or just the Council?"

"Do I work with the Jedi or quietly slip around the edges of society looking for an elusive answer?"

Mara had no answer for him and moved to sit on the couch again. He sat next to her, not quite touching her. "Betrys is beautiful," he said, smiling as he thought of Mara's daughter. "She really does remind me of myself, but there's a lot of you there, too."

"She was definitely her father's daughter."

Luke smiled sadly. "As for Ben—he could be my Ben's twin. It made me miss him even more than I already was," Luke admitted. "I keep wondering if time is passing the same way in my dimension as here. If so, it's only been six days. He could still be on Adumar. He probably doesn't even know I'm gone, unless he felt it in the Force."

"I think of your Ben, too," Mara said. "I've been thinking about how we have to get you home to him. But every time I think of never seeing you again, I… it's…hard." Mara entwined her fingers with his and raised them to her mouth to kiss his knuckles. Over his hand she gave him a determined look. "In the morning, we'll figure something out."

"In the morning," Luke repeated. "I guess I'll go back into the, uh, guest room. I don't want to upset Ben further."

Mara nodded. "I think that would be wise." But she made no move to get up, using her hold on his hand to pull him in closer to her. He laid his head against her shoulder and she shifted so that they lay together in the crook of the couch.

The gift of holding her again was enough to quell the anxiety in his chest, but he didn't sleep, his mind too busy thinking of what the morning would bring.


	17. Chapter 14

_This chapter is a tad short because it and chapter 15 were originally one very (very) long chapter. I'm glad so many of you like Betrys. :) Thanks so much for all the comments. I enjoy hearing all of your thoughts! _

**CHAPTER 14**

Mara woke early the next morning. Luke turned to smile at her, kissing her temple. She was warm in his arms and he was loathe to move. Ben hadn't left his room since he entered it the night before, but Luke knew they should move before he came out and found them on the couch. He wasn't sure how Mara's son would feel or react if he saw them together. Mara appeared to be in silent agreement. She leaned into his kiss for but a brief moment before getting up, leaving him to feel cold at the lack of her heat. But neither of them spoke, not wanting to mention what day it was or the strangeness of celebrating an anniversary with a woman and man that had never really been their husband or wife.

Mara wandered off to her shower. He watched her go before getting up moments later himself and heading into the guest room and taking a shower of his own. After the shower he put on his own black clothing. He wasn't sure if the kids could recognize their father's clothes but felt more comfortable in his own around them. When he was finished he headed back out into the kitchen. It was quiet and he took the time to put on a pot of caf. Mara was never really herself before her first cup, and he knew that she liked it strong.

He felt Betrys's presence behind him before he heard her move and turned to smile at her. "Good morning," he said. "Do you want a cup?" He realized then that he didn't know if she drank caf. He didn't know much about her at all, really. He found himself wondering if she liked hot chocolate, like he did or her father had. Had her first word been 'Daddy' and did she like to fly fighters? Did she have a special person in her life? Was she happy? She was an enigma to him, and he found that he craved more knowledge about her.

"That'd be nice," she said, walking closer to accept a mug. She was just a little taller than Mara, he saw, now that she was standing so close to him. She stared at him for a moment after she took the cup and looked away with a slight blush.

"I'm sorry this is so uncomfortable for you," he said, trying to soothe her. He prepared his own mug and took a seat at the small table. "I really never meant… Actually, that's not true. I didn't really think about all the ramifications of what I was doing."

"I remember how impetuous you could be at times…" she trailed off. "I mean how impetuous Dad was. Force, this is tough."

"You mom told me that you were really close with your dad."

Betrys smiled wistfully. "Yeah. I miss him so much, even still. But you said your wife had died. Mom, I mean. Your kids must understand what I'm going through. I can't imagine losing her, too."

Luke's stomach clenched. Kids. "It's been very rough."

She took a slow drink, and her green eyes studied him over her mug. She swallowed and put the mug on the table. "I'd say so. Hopping dimensions is a bit… extreme."

He smiled ruefully. "So I've heard."

Betrys smiled back. "It's just so strange to be sitting here with you. My dad died when I was 17. Since then I've wished he were here to ask him so many things."

"I felt that way about my father, too," Luke said. "I had a few moments with Anakin before he passed on into the Force. But after Endor I found myself wishing that he had lived so that I could talk to him about, well anything, really—my mother, his life as a Jedi, how to restructure the Order. The list was seemingly never ending."

She nodded in commiseration. "That's it exactly. I never thought about it that way, that he might have felt the same in his life."

"I know he never would have wanted to be an absent father," he murmured thickly, thinking of how absent he's been with Ben since Mara's death. He wasn't selling himself short; he had tried. But the overwhelming loss and the chasm that had existed prior to Mara's death had played into circumstance. "I wanted nothing more as a child and young man than to know my father. I'm so glad that you got to know yours, even if that was ripped from you far too soon."

Betrys's eyes were bright. "The only time Mom really talks about Dad is to tell me how much I'm like him. Sometimes too much like him, she says. He had this habit of being able to see all options in a situation—"

"And it hindered how he made choices involving those situations?" Luke finished.

"Sometimes. I would ask how you know that, but…" She gestured at him as if it were obvious.

He grinned. "Yeah. Listen, I know you're not my daughter," he throat ached with those words, "but if I could give you some advice…?"

She nodded, wrapping one hand around her mug.

"I've suffered from second guessing myself for many years now. It's hard to be an impetuous second-guesser, but I always do things the hard way, at least according to your Uncle Han."

Betrys nodded again, as if she knew that already.

"But I think that the second-guessing comes from not relying fully on the Force. The best decisions of my life have been made with a clear head and glad heart, when I've listened to the guidance of the Force. A wise woman once told me that the Force was about power and guidance and that a true balance between the two could only be achieved through listening and respecting the Force itself."

"But that's so tough to do sometimes," she said softly. "Overwhelming."

"That's how I felt when your mother taught me—reminded me of—the lesson," he said. "Well, _my _Mara. And it was—tough to do, I mean. But when you're at peace and you can listen to the guidance, you'll know what to do and suddenly, it's not so overwhelming at all."

Betrys smiled at him and he smiled back, longing to stand and give her a hug, to hold the daughter he could never have imagined. He felt a sense of happiness about her in the Force, however, and that was enough for him. It made him smile wider.

He realized, too, that his words were for him as much as they had been for Betrys. He had been chasing solutions to his predicament but hadn't listened to the Force, hadn't sought the answers through the most powerful tool at his disposal. At that thought a sense of peace settled over him, and he realized that he might be on track to finding out how to get back home.

"By the way," he said. "Happy birthday."

Betrys blinked and then grinned. "Thanks. Thirty-one. I can't believe it."

"Can't believe what?" Mara asked, coming into the kitchen, followed by Ben. Ben looked furtively at Luke before grabbing a box of cereal from the cabinet.

"I was just telling… uh… Luke… that I can't believe I'm thirty-one today," Betrys explained.

"_You_ can't believe it?" Mara asked, leaning down to hug her daughter. "I pushed for three hours those many years ago and can't believe it myself."

Luke was happy to see Mara parenting her adult daughter. He could tell how close they were, could feel an echo of their strong bond in the Force. His Mara had died when Ben was only fourteen and had missed his formative teenage years. She would never see her son grow into a man and that left both Luke and Ben bereft.

"Dad always said I was born on your wedding night because I wanted to be there to celebrate with the two of you." Betrys's eyes were distant as if she were remembering her father telling her the story.

Mara released an amused puff of air. "Yeah… he had been nagging me every day since we had learned I was pregnant to marry him. I was stubborn and didn't want to do it while pregnant… but on the day you were born… I finally gave in and said 'yes' and you have never seen a man move so fast in your life. We were married in a matter of hours."

Betrys laughed. "You've never told us that story before. I'd only heard it from Dad. I like hearing you talk about him."

Mara looked startled by the statement, before her eyes shuttered. "…It was a long time ago. Let's talk about your birthday. What are you plans for tonight?"

Betrys sighed as if disappointed, but answered her mother. Ben didn't say anything but had obviously been listening to the story by the look of the wide, interested set of his gaze. But Luke noticed that when Mara changed the subject his face had fallen. "Yeah, happy birthday, sis," he muttered, punching her in the arm as he exited the kitchen with his breakfast.

Luke watched him go and frowned to himself. This Ben had never even known him, really. His father had died when he was so young. He tried to imagine all he would have missed with his own son had he died at the end of the Vong war. It was too great a loss to contemplate. He wondered what exactly Ben knew of his father. Something told him that most of Ben's knowledge had come from Betrys, not Mara.

"…cheer up when I take him out with me tonight," Betrys was saying when Luke tuned back into the conversation between mother and daughter.

"What about Mr. Blood-Stripes? Is he going to be at this party?" Mara asked, sending her daughter a sly look.

Luke was surprised at the protective feeling that streaked through him at the idea of Betrys and this unknown man.

Betrys rolled her eyes. "Not unless he was a stowaway from Naboo, Mom. Don't get too excited for grandchildren just yet."

"I think we can wait awhile on that," Mara said coolly. "I'm not really what you'd call a 'granny'."

Betrys laughed. "I'm not that much younger than Jacen," she pointed out.

"Yes, but Han's twelve years older than me. I have no desire to hear him call me 'Granny Jade' yet." But Mara quirked her lips in a small smile and Luke knew that someday she would make a fantastic grandmother. He felt voyeuristic watching this conversation and tried to figure out how to make his exit so that Betrys could have some time alone with her mother.

But Mara made it easy on him. "I have your present in my bedroom," she said to her daughter. "Come on."

Betrys stood to follow her mother, turning to give Luke a parting smile as she left the room.

He enjoyed the silence of the kitchen for a moment, finishing his caf and taking the mug to the sink to rinse. He heard Artoo whistling down the hall, and the sound managed to make him feel both at home and in a foreign land. He didn't have time to contemplate that thought as he felt another presence behind him. He steeled himself, turning to look into Ben's blue eyes, so like his own. If this Ben was as similar in action and emotion as he was in looks to his own Ben, Luke knew he should tread lightly. "Hi," he said, asking for nothing except maybe a greeting in return.

Ben grunted and moved past Luke to get a different box of cereal from the cabinet. He opened it and poured it into his bowl, shooting another furtive glance in Luke's direction. Still, Luke didn't say anything, though his heart was beating hard in his chest. How different this conversation would be if he were back in his own dimension. But no matter where he was, Luke wasn't sure where to start. Or if he should start.

"How did your wife die?" Ben asked, breaking the silence but not looking up from his bowl. He stirred his spoon around in it slowly.

Luke swallowed hard. He wasn't sure how much to reveal, scared not only of revealing that Betrys didn't exist in his dimension but also of telling Ben about Jacen's fall to the Dark Side. "She was murdered by the Sith your mother mentioned earlier."

"Oh," Ben said, sounding incredibly young in stark dichotomy to the sharp set of his face. It was the angular and changing face of a young man. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

"When did it happen?"

"Almost two years ago now," Luke said, amazed by the span of time. That first night he hadn't even wanted to go to sleep. If he slept then the day was over, the day he had felt Mara die. She had been alive that morning and gone that night and it just seemed so wrong and terrible. Now he had lived without her for almost two years, but it had been a half-life. A disservice to his son, and to himself. Not to mention a disservice to Mara's memory.

"Two years," Ben repeated and Luke could see him imagining himself as a fourteen year old, losing his mother. "That's how old I was when Dad died. Two."

Luke nodded. "I know. I … Your mother told me that."

"You don't look like I thought you would," Ben said, changing the subject.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're shorter than I imagined."

Luke laughed. "You're not the first to say so, son." He winced as soon as the word left his mouth.

Ben looked stunned but quickly recovered with a mask of indifference. "Guess you're pretty happy to be stuck here with my Mom. You know, after losing your wife, and all."

"Seeing your mom has been… healing." He wasn't sure how to explain the complexities of the situation to a teenager. Healing seemed to be good, and true enough, of a word.

"I'll bet." Ben was baiting him, covering up for being uncomfortable. And he wasn't finished. "So what happens now, _Dad_?" Sarcasm dripped in his voice. "Are you and mom going to get together and 'complete' our family?"

"I think your family was pretty complete already," Luke said evenly. "Just missing a member. But I'm not here to take his place. No one could ever do that." He paused. Sighed. "You may not realize it but this is hard for me, too. I see you and think of my own son. I think about how I need to get home to him."

"You have kids?"

Luke's heart seized. "Yes," he said, hoping Ben didn't ask him to elaborate.

"And they lost mom—your Mara?"

Luke nodded. "I know you might not understand this, Ben. But I came here because I felt so desperate to see my wife again. I realize now that I didn't completely control this choice, that I was led into it, but it was still with my eyes wide open. I can only apologize to you for … for interrupting your life."

Ben set his bowl on the counter and regarded Luke. He ducked his head just slightly to the side in an action that Luke had seen from his own son. He was still uncomfortable but leaning toward forgiveness. "Yeah, all right," he said after that beat. "Just—what happens now? Do we start a reality-based show on the HoloNet hawking you as the wacky dad of two Jedi that hopped dimensions to find the only woman who would have him, bowl-cut and all?"

"First, I don't have a bowl-cut—"

"Anymore," Bet cut in.

Luke concealed a smile, but kept talking. "And second—do you think anyone would watch?"

"Are you kidding?" Ben asked, with a small smile. "We'd be a hit."

Ben's half-smile eased some of the ache in Luke's heart. But the unreality of it all was still a hard pill to swallow. His heart led him in two directions—staying here with Mara and her children or going back home to his own son. His brain knew he could only have one, but his heart, his heart wanted both.

He rolled his eyes playfully at Mara's son. "I don't know, Ben. I'm not sure our family life is messed up enough for a reality show."

Ben grinned outright at that. "A sense of humor. I also didn't expect that, no matter what Betrys says."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, just that Bets tells me about Dad sometimes and I never know what to think about it. I wish Mom would talk more about him, but she hardly does."

Luke could imagine that. "I think it's just hard for her, Ben. She loved your father very much."

"Yeah," Ben agreed. "But she's not the only one who did."


	18. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Mara's holocomm unit beeped with a message. She went to answer it while Luke remained out of sight. Betrys and Ben had taken Artoo and left for some saber training, wanting to ease any suspicion the Jedi may have after the explosion of emotion from them the night before. He longed to go with them and watch them spar, but contented himself with the newfound accord he had gained with both of them. Plus, he would see them when they returned home, before they left to celebrate Betrys's birthday.

"That was Corran."

Luke looked up in surprise. He hadn't even listened to the conversation.

"I invited him to meet me… us… here, though he doesn't know about you yet. I think that we should feel out the reaction first before bringing you before the full Council." Luke nodded. Mara had earlier sent out a call for the Council to meet in two days time. He could tell that she was probably a little restless and talking to Corran might help ease her mind, and his. "Luke and Corran were friends," she continued, "and we can trust him."

Luke smiled faintly. "Should we tell him my suspicions about Byss?"

"I think so. If there is a Sith there, a strike team will have to be organized. And since I trust what you say implicitly…" She trailed off as if to say that no matter what, a strike team would be organized. Luke had mostly pushed the thought of the Sith on Byss to the back of his mind after he had met Mara's children. Now it seemed time to deal with reality again. But Mara's faith in him immediately served to make him feel lighter knowing that, one way or another, the situation on Byss would be handled.

The door buzzer rang. "Should I be in the other room or just be here for him to see me right away?"

"Just let him see you," Mara said, walking toward the door. "I always like to put Horn off balance."

Luke shook his head. Yes, she was a universal constant. Still, he moved into the kitchen and sat down at the table. He wanted to wait and see how Mara would actually proceed.

"Hey, Mara," Corran said, coming in the door. "What was so important it couldn't wait for the Council meeting?"

"What? You don't like spending time with me? I'm wounded."

"What Mirax sees in you, I'll never know." Corran sounded amused, and Luke could picture the grin on his friend's face.

"Funny, I always say the same to her. But listen, Horn, I have something serious to discuss with you…"

He listed as Mara explained the situation to Corran. Corran didn't really say much. After Mara was done speaking they wandered into the kitchen.

Luke stood and faced his friend, noting the only difference from his dimension being the lack of Corran's facial hair. "Hi, Corran. I know this is a shock."

"You could say that," Corran said, his eyes tracking over Luke's face.

Luke could feel Corran reaching out with the Force, trying to get a sense of him. "I've been constantly shielding," he said. "It's beginning to wear." But he once more established an individual bond with Corran, allowing him to sense the truth to Mara's words, that he was indeed Luke Skywalker.

"Wow." Corran looked like he could use a stiff drink. "Even if you're not the Luke I knew, it's damn good to see you again."

"Thanks." Luke couldn't help but smile at Corran, but also at the shocked expression on his face.

Mara smirked. "Well, sit down, Horn. We're about to shock you even more."

.

.

Corran sat hesitantly across from Luke and Mara. His eyes kept tracking back and forth between them, and Luke glanced nervously over at Mara to gauge her reaction. She was stiff in her chair. "Yes, he looks just like Luke. We've established that."

Corran blushed. He reached for his cup of caf. "Sorry."

Luke smiled gently at him. "I'm sure it's hard to get used to. I'm sorry this is so difficult."

Green eyes slyed toward Mara. "Yeah," Corran said. "It's okay. I'm just absorbing the information before you drop another bomb on me. I am curious as to why you wanted to talk to me alone, and not the full Council."

"Just to feel out the reaction, really." Mara had her hands wrapped around a mug, but had yet to take a drink. "And to wrack your brain, to see if you can help us."

"The issue is two-fold," Luke said with another glance at Mara. She gave him a small nod and he felt confident to go on. But Corran cut him off first.

"I'm also curious as to why you're here. How you got here, how long you've been here. For what purpose." The shock seemed to be wearing off and Corran was now relying on his old CorSec training to get answers.

Luke wasn't sure how much to tell his old friend. It was partially out of embarrassment, but also because the pain and longing for Mara was private, not something he wanted on display. He ended up giving Corran an abbreviated version of the events that had led him into this dimension. He finished up with the fact that the IDD was broken, and that he was seemingly stuck there.

By the time he finished Corran was stroking his chin, looking deep in thought. He was silent for a moment, then he looked at Mara. "That's the quietest I've heard you in a long time, Jade."

Mara groaned but seemed to appreciate the attempt to cut the tension. "That's all you've got, Horn?"

"I…" Corran sighed. "No. I don't know. This is… you're right. A shock. How are you dealing with it, Mara?"

"I'm fine." Mara's tone didn't leave room for an argument or any further questions. "We asked you here for advice. Do you think the Council can help him? Have you heard of anything like this? Do you have any ideas?"

"I really… If you haven't thought of it, I'm not going to. But he should come before the Council." He turned his eyes to Luke. "You always said that the Jedi were a family. Now is when you need that family."

A slow smile threaded across Luke's face. Corran was right. Would wonders never cease? "I will. Just as soon as they're all together. Day after tomorrow, right?" Off Mara's nod, he frowned. "Because there's more, Corran."

"I'm not sure I want to know." When neither Luke nor Mara smiled, Corran propped his chin on his palm. "Now I'm _really _sure I don't want to know."

"There may be a Sith in the galaxy." Mara spoke before the moment could drag out any longer.

"A _what_? How…?"

Luke told him about the darkness that he felt surrounding Byss. He also told him an abbreviated story about his experiences on that planet in his own galaxy. "At first I was afraid that Palpatine was there, but now… with a clearer head… I think that it's someone else. Someone still dangerous and who needs to be stopped. But not… him."

"Thank the Force for small favors." Corran sighed. "Any more bombs you want to drop on me? In your galaxy am I married to Isard or something?"

Luke chuckled. "No. To Mirax and you have two great kids."

"Well, there's that, at least. Look, I can understand your fears about Byss. But we're strong. The Council will send an envoy to Byss and we'll take care of the problem. There're many Knights and Masters to help. What I'm trying to say is that I think, well, not knowing all the particulars, but I think we can handle this."

Luke nodded. "And I really don't know much, other than the dark presence I felt and this map." He pulled Niargen's cup from his pocket. "It was given to us by a man in an insane asylum."

Corran rolled his eyes. "Skywalkers. Never can do anything the easy way." He studied the cup. "This isn't much to go on. "

"Really?" Mara frowned at him. She tapped her fingers on the table impatiently. "Didn't your fancy CorSec training give you anything more than that, Horn?"

Luke glanced at her and then down to her hand. She let out a sigh but laid it on the table, next to his.

"I could start talking about interrogation particulars and the intimacy of your body language, Jade, but I'll refrain."

Luke instantly flushed a bright red, and though Mara's hand twitched as if she wanted to move it, she didn't. Luke wasn't sure if it was because she wanted her hand next to his, or just to prove to Corran that he hadn't rattled her, even though it was apparent he had. "Do you have anything else to offer?"

"Sorry, sorry." Corran looked contrite. "Byss. You said Palpatine had a citadel there, in your universe? That it was his stronghold?" Luke nodded and Corran continued. "I've never been there. But I do remember an incident there, some years back. It seemed that a crime syndicate had taken up residence there. I'd have to check the HoloNet but I'm pretty sure it was busted up by New Republic Security Force."

Luke relaxed in his chair as Corran stopped speaking. "Thank you, Corran. That's good news."

"But we'll still meet with the Council." Mara rose from her chair. "Whatever is on Byss needs to be dealt with. And Luke needs all the help he can get to…go home."

Corran looked back and forth between the two of them. "Yeah. Well, I'll head out then." He stood to leave.

Luke stood, too, and reached for his friend's hand. "Thanks, Corran."

Corran smiled. "It really is good to see you again." He turned to Mara. "Walk me out."

Mara rolled her eyes. "You know the way, Horn." But she went with him anyway.

Luke sat back down in his chair and heard Corran's low voice. "Are you okay, Mara? I mean—"

"I'm fine, Horn." She sounded exasperated.

"Mara. Mirax would eviscerate me with my own lightsaber if I didn't ask. You know that."

"Tell Mirax I'm fine." Her voice was softer. "I'll comm her in a few days. And we will see you at the meeting."

Corran took his leave, but Luke wasn't paying attention. His mind was on the next two days, and what a trip before the Council might bring.

.

.

Mara returned to the kitchen, but didn't sit. Instead she started rummaging through cabinets. "The kids will be back soon. They'll be starved. Especially—"

"Ben," Luke finished for her. "I have a hard time keeping food stocked."

"He out eats you, and I never thought I'd see that," Mara agreed. She pulled out a package of noodles and shook them. "Do you feel up to making your infamous sauce again?"

"You liked it that much?"

"You can teach it to me this time. You cook and I'll watch."

"Something tells me I've been had." Luke took the bag from her. Their hands brushed lightly together.

He caught her eye and they stared at one another for a moment. The heat was still there, and the longing. He put down the bag of noodles and boxed his arms around Mara at the counter. His lips met hers in a slow kiss, the galaxy around them slowly melting away. There were no worries about Byss or Sith, getting him home, or the fact that it was their wedding anniversary but with different partners.

There was nothing but their lips and mingled breath. Mara was the first to break away, leaning her forehead against his. "They'll be back soon," she whispered.

"Yeah." His voice was gruff, but he stole another soft kiss before pushing against the counter and away from her. He started to open a cabinet before realizing he didn't know where anything was kept. Mara took pity on him and starting pulling out ingredients that she seemed to remember from the _Sabre_. They were quiet as they worked, but the silence was pleasant, not strained.

He was just adding the last ingredient when the door slid open and they heard the kids enter. Mara went out to greet them. She came back a few minutes later with Betrys in tow. With her hair in a sloppy bun and wearing exercise clothing, she looked so young that Luke couldn't help but smile at her. "Hope you're hungry." He indicated the pots on the stove.

Betrys's eyes lit up. "Starved!" She set a stack of flimsies and a datapad on the table. "We stopped by the Archives and picked up some materials that might be relevant to getting you home."

Luke looked at the pile and thought he saw a small holocron among the items. "Thank you, Betrys." He wondered if perhaps there could be an answer there, or if his only option was on Byss. His stomach started knot up again but he quickly released the stress into the Force and took a deep, cleansing breath. "Let's eat first. Where's Ben?"

"Taking a shower." Betrys smirked at them. "We passed Vestara in the halls and she said she was coming to my party tonight. Suddenly he had the urge to clean up."

Mara laughed. Luke had to smile, too, even if he didn't know who this Vestara was. But he could imagine—Ben with a crush. He thought about his own son at home and wondered if he had a crush on anyone. He had never thought to ask. He didn't know of anyone named Vestara in the Temple, but he hadn't paid as close attention to the new recruits as he had before Mara's death. Another pleasure he had denied himself after her death. He was starting to realize that he hadn't even being living a half-life without Mara. He hadn't been living much of a life at all.

"What are you making?" Betrys wandered over to the stove and looked into the pot.

"Just a noodle and cream sauce dish." Luke stirred the sauce. "I taught it to your mother."

"Yeah, I don't remember Dad ever making a noodle dish. He always really liked spicy dishes and hot sauces." She looked over at Mara. "Or did he know this one?"

"No. Your father was on Dagobah when Luke learned this dish."

Betrys raised a hand to her forehead in mock confusion. "How about I just eat and enjoy?"

Luke grinned. "Probably smarter that way. It's ready now." He drained the noodles with the strainer Mara had set out for him, and Betrys and Mara took plates out of the cabinets and set the table. At that moment Ben wandered into the room and slid into a seat. All the domestic noises surrounding them were comforting. He and Ben had taken to eating take-out whenever Ben was home, or just eating sandwiches on the go. He sat at the table by himself most nights, Ben coming in and getting something and leaving again. Luke looked over at Mara's Ben, and smiled to himself upon seeing his hair combed in a way to appear attractively messy. Even if he was a Jedi Knight, he was still a teenager. The Ben in front of him seemed to merge in his mind with his own son Ben. Teenager or not, he was still his child.

And he needed to get home to him.

Ben took a small bite of his pasta. "Hey, I didn't know you could cook." He took a larger bite.

"Dad never made this," Betrys said, propping her fork on the side of her plate to reach for her glass. "But it is really good."

Luke opened his mouth to thank her, but Ben cut him off. "Did Dad cook often?"

"He cooked some." Betrys smiled at him. "He also loved those spiced ribenes that you like."

"Really?" Ben seemed lost in thought, but that didn't stop him from devouring the food on his plate and reaching for seconds.

"Yes," Mara answered. Ben looked up at his mother. "All those spicy foods you like were things that he loved, too."

"Oh." Ben pushed his fork around on his plate. "Interesting."

Mara pressed her lips together, but continued speaking. "One time we visited you, during the war. Betrys stayed with Han and Leia so it was only you, your father, and me. It was when you and the other Jedi children were in hiding. You weren't quite two yet. We thought you were asleep one night and Luke had left this bag of spicy corn chips out on the table. I fell into an exhausted sleep but Luke told me later that he woke up to the sound of a bag crackling—you had climbed out of the crib and were eating the chips."

Ben had gone absolutely still, his meal forgotten. Luke himself was still, wishing that there had been a night like this for him and his own son. He and Mara had never been able to visit Ben while he had been at the Maw.

Mara continued, almost as if she was telling the story to herself. "When I woke up in the morning, you were asleep on his chest, your little face and hands stained orange. I remember wishing I had a holocam because you must have kissed his cheek before you went to sleep… it was stained orange in a perfect little ring, just the size of your mouth."

There was silence around the table for a moment. Luke felt like he should feel like an outsider, but strangely he didn't. He was glad he was there for that moment, if nothing more than for the look of wonder and awe on Ben's face. He realized he wanted to see that look on his own son's face.

"I wish…" Ben's voice wavered and he cleared his throat. "I wish I remembered that."

Mara smiled sadly at her son. "I wish you did, too."

.

.

The rest of the afternoon was spent pouring over rare books and datapads that Betrys and Ben had brought back from the Archives. Betrys switched off a datapad and heaved a sigh. "Nothing. Again."

Luke smiled his thanks to her. He had enjoyed spending a few quiet hours with her like this, working together. She was very much a perfectionist, like her mother. "You should go enjoy your birthday," he said. "This can't be very fun."

"There's the party tonight. I'll be fine." She tucked her hair behind her ears and went to work scanning through another document.

He wondered if she really just liked being in his presence. He knew it was still a very surreal experience for her. But he had to admit that he liked being around her, too. She was just… amazing. The daughter he had never known he wanted. Mara's Ben was a great kid, too, so much like the son he had left behind. Thinking about the kids made the need for an answer of how to get home claw at him.

He let his eyes move to Mara, looking through yet another datapad on the couch they had shared the night before. She had drawn back from him in front of the children, and he felt the walls rising again after her story about Luke to Ben. They weren't getting anywhere with finding any information on getting him back home, and he began to wonder what life would be like in this new dimension.

And there was the fact that today was his and Mara's anniversary in both planes of existence. How different those wedding days had been. He allowed himself a moment to close his eyes and remember his Mara, in her beautiful wedding gown, repeating her vows to him. Though the private Jedi ceremony had held more spiritual meaning to them both, the public wedding had been the date they chose to observe, the day the entire galaxy had recognized their intent to be husband and wife. Their vows had stated they should be together until death or the Force parted them, but he never really thought it could happen, even in the darkest days of the Vong war when Mara had fought for her and Ben's lives. He had felt that he could prevent it somehow, through the sheer will of his love.

The future had seemed so bright and beautiful on their wedding day, so full of promise and hope. And they had fulfilled that hope in their love for one another and through Ben, the greatest of all their accomplishments. In that moment of remembrance it was as if something shifted inside of him, as he realized that Mara's death did not invalidate the love they had shared. He realized that their love was always alive inside of him, and in the presence of their son.

Mara looked over at him as if she too could feel the shift in his heart. It was then that he realized that she already knew this feeling, the feeling of letting go. It didn't mean that he loved Mara any less than he had just a moment before, but it meant that he could move on with his life. He would never get over her and he was sure he would never love another the same way as he had loved her, but he wouldn't wallow in his loss any longer. It was a part of him just as she was, both a part of the fabric of his soul.

Betrys's hand on his arm made him snap from the moment of realization and he looked up at her questioningly. She and Ben stood next to him.

"We have to leave for the party now. I didn't find anything, but maybe tomorrow…" she trailed off, still looking at him. "Unless you need us to stay?"

"No. You two go on. Thank you." He stood and watched as they gathered their things together, Betrys hugging Mara goodbye at the door and asking her if it were okay for Artoo to stay the night.

"So… Did you say anything to my Mom about what we talked about?" Ben's question was quiet and he stood awkwardly at the door, not quite meeting Luke's eyes.

"No." Luke gave him a long look. "I think she just finally wanted to open up to you. Take it from me… Mara Jade can be very frustrating but she usually comes to things in her own time."

Ben smirked. "You would know. I'm just glad she said anything at all. I think it's because of you. You have that kind of face. It makes people want to tell you things. I should perfect that and use it on girls."

Luke couldn't help but smile. "Well, it worked for me…eventually. Have fun tonight. Watch out for your big sister."

Ben grinned. "You should see her when she's angry. That's when the Jade comes out." Ben trailed out the door. "Come on, sis! Or are you getting too old to move quickly?"

Betrys rolled her eyes. "I'm coming." She looked at Luke. "I'm sorry we didn't find any information to help you."

"It's okay. Thank you for trying." He felt awkward but didn't want to miss this chance. He wasn't sure what tomorrow would bring, but the Force was telling him to take a risk. "Before you go, would it be okay if I, uh, gave you a hug?"

He didn't look at Mara to gauge her reaction. His eyes locked on this young woman in front of him who could have been his daughter. She bit her lower lip before nodding slightly. Luke stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, and it felt so right through the Force, so beautiful and pure. She sniffled a little against his shoulder but held her composure, pulling back far too soon but just at the right time.

"Thank you," she murmured, "for that gift."

His own eyes were heavy with tears as he watched her turn and walk out the door.


	19. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

After the door closed behind Betrys, Luke risked looking at Mara, fearing that he might have overstepped his bounds. But Mara's own eyes were suspiciously wet and he realized the impact of her seeing him hug her daughter. "Come here," he said, reaching for her hand, pulling her close. He buried his face in her hair, the tears drying on his cheeks. "She's remarkable," he murmured into her ear. "They both are, and that's a testament to your strength."

Mara pulled back and gave him a sad smile. She shook her head. "They're a testament to both me _and_ Luke." There was an awkward silence and as before, she clammed up when she spoke of her husband. Pulling away from him she went around the room, gathering up the flimsies and datapads.

Luke pitched in, picking up the items closest to him and setting them neatly onto the occasional table. Her silence made him think about his hug with Betrys and his talk with Ben. He could see how the kids could be frustrated. When they mentioned their father, Mara would change the subject or stop talking all together, though her story to Ben at dinner had seemed a step in the right direction. But still he wasn't sure how to broach the subject with Mara, or even if he should broach the subject at all.

He thought back to the look on Ben's face when Mara had told the story of his late night escapade with his father. Even just that small story had seemed amazing to Ben. Betrys remembered her dad, but Ben didn't remember him at all. And that thought alone was enough to make him speak. "Ben really enjoyed your talk at dinner."

Mara's back stiffened. But when she turned to face him her eyes were not as guarded as he had thought they would be. "Yeah. Listen, I'm going to take these back to the Archives." She held up the bundle in her hands.

"Mara—"

"Skywalker."

He sighed. He knew she wanted to get away from him, to clear her head and be alone with her memories. He forced a smile. "Go ahead. You'll be back soon?"

Mara's smile was relieved. "Yes…I—yes." She seemed ready to say more, but didn't. She turned and left the room, and a moment later he heard the front doors cycling shut. He let out a defeated breath and sat on the couch. The room darkened toward night and still he sat there, his brain and heart too heavy and full for him to think of what to do next.

A beep at the doorway drew his attention and he looked up to see Artoo Detoo trundling through the door. He smiled at the faithful little droid. "Hi, buddy."

Artoo's dome whirled and he let out a series of whistles and beeps as he came closer. Luke absently patted the droid and looked at the datapad attached to him. He let out a puff of air at what he read there. "No, I'm not your Master. Betrys is right."

Artoo trilled another response. Luke read the datapad again. "That's right, Artoo. I am Luke Skywalker, but not—I'm not the Luke Skywalker who was married to Mara. Or the father of Betrys and Ben."

Contemplating that, Artoo's mechanical eye moved up and down as if taking in Luke's full measure. At the response on the screen, Luke laughed. "Yes, I am pretty sure my inner workings are the same as his."

Artoo rocked from side to side and whistled mournfully. Luke didn't need to read the screen to interpret that sound. A lump formed in his throat. "I'm sure he… I'm sure he would miss you, too."

Another response popped up on Artoo's screen. "Betrys says that, too, huh?" Luke smiled at the little droid. "She's amazing, Artoo. I know she's a good Master for you now. I… couldn't tell her this, but where I come from, I don't have a daughter. And it makes me sad to think that I missed out on knowing her."

Artoo was silent and Luke patted his dome. "Sorry, 'Too. I didn't mean to dump that on—" He stopped as Artoo's robotic eye flashed a hologram. And much like he had some forty years before when viewing another of Artoo's holos, Luke had to sit down.

"Da-Da." A baby voice rang out from the holo. A baby, Betrys, was speaking. "Da-Da," she said again. Luke watched her walk on chubby legs only to be caught up in a pair of familiar arms. "Bets!" his own voice exclaimed. He watched as Luke picked up his daughter and blew on her belly, tickling her. "Bets."

He swallowed past a lump in his throat. "That…that's amazing." His voice was raw, scratchy with more unshed tears. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, just staring at the image of father and daughter. His mind trailed to Mara, in the Archives, and how seeing him hug her daughter must have affected her. "Do you have any holos of the three of them together, Artoo?"

An affirmative beep came only seconds before another holo, this one of Betrys a little older. It appeared to be her birthday, as she was grinning and leaning over a large cake. Her parents were behind her, holding hands. Betrys looked to be about four, so it would have been their fourth anniversary. He smiled as young Betrys dipped her finger into the cake's icing and stuck it into her mouth. "Betrys," holo Mara moaned. "Wait for me to cut you a slice." But holo Luke just looked amused. He reached out and swiped his own finger into the icing, and put it into Mara's mouth. Mara did not appear amused and grabbed his hand to remove it, but at the last minute used just the tip of her tongue to tease his finger. Luke's stomach clenched as he recognized the look in holo Mara's eyes, but holo Betrys didn't notice her parents' antics, too busy grabbing fistfuls of cake and stuffing them in her mouth.

Luke smiled at the image of Betrys enjoying her cake, and wondered how her party was going on this birthday night. She looked so carefree in that holo, a happy child. His mind drifted to Ben as a four year old. He had been happy, too, if guarded. His time in the Maw had changed him, had turned him into a child afraid to use the Force for fear of the pain and suffering that he could sense and that had trickled into other aspects of his life, and personality. It pained Luke to know that Ben's short life had been filled with feelings such as those, and suddenly all he wanted was to see his son—_Luke's_ son.

"Do you have any holos of Ben with Luke?" Again, Artoo beeped and only a fraction later another holo flickered to life. "Artoo, are you recording this?" Holo Luke's voice sounded tired. He held a small bundle in his arms and had a huge grin on his face. A beep sounded in the holo-cording, Artoo answering yes to his Master. "Good," holo Luke said. "I wanted to record this video for Bets. She misses her brother already." He held the little bundle up for Artoo to see.

Luke had trouble catching his breath. There was Ben as he remembered him, shortly after his birth. He could understand holo Luke's joy and could remember just how tired he had been. No one could quite prepare you for a newborn; it just had to be learned. "Hi, Bets," holo Luke was speaking for baby Ben. "I miss you, Big Sis, and Momma and Daddy miss you, too—especially early in the morning when I'm still awake and ready to party!" Holo Luke settled into a chair, but Artoo rolled across the floor and kept recording. Luke cupped the baby's head in his hand and smiled down at him with such a look of love. "He looks a lot like you did when you were a baby, Bets," Luke whispered. "I like to just sit and look at him, like I did with you. It pains me, though, because I want him to have the childhood that you did, the joys and wonder of it all…" Holo Luke sighed.

Luke bit his lip. He recognized that sigh. He, too, had sat with Baby Ben in those long early morning hours during the Vong war and worried about the baby's future. All of their futures.

"…but I don't want to burden you, Betrys. Really, we Skywalker men were just sending this message to tell you how much we miss you." Holo Luke looked up from the baby. "Stay safe, Bets. I love you."

It was quiet for only a moment and then another holo started. It was Luke and Mara and an older Ben, in a room that was unfamiliar to Luke. Ben appeared to be just under two years old, his hair curling in the back and his chubby legs so familiar to Luke that he felt a physical tug at his heart. "Soon it'll be bedtime," holo Mara said. "No," baby Ben protested. Holo Luke laughed. "I agree, buddy." Holo Mara rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to be on my side here, Farmboy."

Luke smiled at the familiar retort. As he thought about the time frame, he wondered if this was the trip where Luke and Ben had stayed up late in the night eating chips. He found himself hoping there had been more than that one trip, more time for Luke and Ben to have been father and son.

"Da-dee," holo Ben said, climbing over his father's legs, heedless of where he stepped. "Da-dee."

Luke remembered the joy he felt when Ben called him "Daddy" for the first time. He had not been able to see his son while he was in hiding, but when they had come back together as a family, after the war, Ben had seemed to know instinctively who he and Mara were. The first night when he had helped Mara put him to bed, Ben had looked up at him and called him Daddy. It had seemed then that all the weight of the galaxy had lifted from his chest, and he was able to breathe again as he smiled down at his small son.

He smiled again at the holo family. "Have you shown these to Ben, Artoo?"

But Artoo wasn't the one to answer him. "No," Mara said. He turned to look at her, standing in the doorway. He had been so preoccupied with Artoo's holos that he hadn't realized she had returned from the Archives. She wasn't looking at Luke, but at the still frame of the holo. "_I_ didn't even know he had them."

"I think that Ben—and Betrys—would really like to see them."

Mara nodded, and he watched her throat move as she swallowed past what must have been a lump in her throat. "I think so, too."

He thought again of Ben's face, when Ben had said that he didn't know much about his father, and that Mara never spoke about him. He thought again of how amazed Ben had been to hear the story of sitting up late into the night with his father. And he thought about his own son, who remembered his mother, but there were years of her life that he knew nothing about. Stories and memories that he could help to fill in. "It's hard, isn't it? Talking about Luke?" It was strange to speak of Luke as a different person, to fully realize that he had never been her husband, and that he was forever gone from her life.

"What gave me away? The tears or the pathetic look on my face?" Mara sat on the couch. "Turn that off, Artoo."

Artoo beeped in compliance and the holo disappeared, though the bright light continued to dazzle Luke's eyes. He sat next to her, relieved when she didn't push away. He reached for her hand. "It's not pathetic to remember him. The kids want to know. _Ben_ wants to know." He squeezed her hand. "The memories don't have to hurt."

"When he died…" Her voice broke but Luke gave her a minute. He knew that she would continue in her own time, and she did. "When he died, I had these two kids to take care of and an Academy of Jedi. I had people wanting to tell me how great he had been, how much _they_ loved him… how much the galaxy needed him. But I couldn't say anything. It hurt to think about him when I felt so empty."

Luke nodded. He knew that feeling well. "That bond in the Force was never meant to be broken." He let his Force sense pulse around him in the empty space where his bond with his Mara had once existed. He smiled sadly at her. "But it was… and we survived."

"We're good at that," Mara said with a trace of dark humor.

An amused puff of air escaped his mouth. "Yeah." Giving her a measured look, he went on. "I realized something earlier, when the kids were still here. Artoo's holos helped to solidify it." Mara raised a brow in a 'go on' gesture. "I realized that losing Mara doesn't mean I have to love her any less. But it does mean I have to keep living for Ben… and for myself."

She leaned her head against his shoulder and nodded. "It's a hard lesson, but then, all lessons that are worth learning are tough."

"Mara Jade Skywalker: Jedi Philosopher," Luke murmured through a laugh.

Mara scoffed and shook against him in laugher, lifting her head to shake it at him. She wiped at her eyes. "We'll meet with the Council soon… but I can't believe we couldn't find anything in the materials from the Archives. They've got a step by step process for using a mind trick to make people believe shapeless brown robes are the height of fashion but we can't figure out how to get you back home."

Luke smiled at her attempt to lighten the mood. "Strangely, I'm not too worried at the moment. I have a good feeling about this."

Mara raised a perfect eyebrow. "A 'good feeling', Farmboy?"

"Yeah," he said. "Strange, isn't it? But come on, it's late, and it's our anniversaries—my 23rd anniversary and your 31st. It's also your daughter's birthday. We should celebrate."

Mara paused to give him a measured look of her own. "What the hell. I'll call for take-out."

.

.

An hour later found them sitting at Mara's kitchen table, eating outrageously expensive Alderaanian food. Luke felt lighter than he had in years and Mara responded to him in a similar manner. Out from the watchful eyes of her children she was freer, less concerned. And they both seemed lighter after the talk over the holos.

"Ruge," he said, looking at the bottle of wine Mara had ordered for their impromptu celebration. "Leia loves this stuff."

"She has good taste… except in men." She rolled her eyes, but was smiling.

Luke smiled back, remembering how Han and Mara liked to bicker with one another. "I know you said that they were in a good place, Leia and Han, but I can only imagine how they—how _she_ took Luke's death."

Mara was quiet. "It was very hard on her, too. She misses him almost as much as I do, I think."

Luke looked down at the table, thinking of his sister. She and Han had been there for him since Mara's death, but he hadn't really opened up to them as he should have. He looked back up to meet Mara's eyes. "Do me a favor, will you? If—when—you tell her about this, will you tell her how much I love her?"

"She knows, Farmboy. But of course I will."

He grinned his thanks and popped open the bottle of Ruge, struggling a little to get the cork out of the bottle's neck. Mara laughed and he smiled in reaction, loving the sound from her, so rare. "What?" He shook off his sad thoughts about Leia, concentrating only on the lovely sounds of Mara's laugh and the sight of her smile.

"Nothing, it just… well, this reminds me of my first date with Luke."

"You drank Ruge on your first date? No wonder Betrys was born on your wedding night."

"I love when you try to act roguish," Mara smirked. "And we dated for more than a year before I got pregnant. Anyway, we did have Ruge that first night, and Luke struggled to get it open, just like you are now. The cork finally came out, along with most of the bottle. He was fast enough to keep it from hitting him, but my rug…" Mara rolled her eyes, but was smiling as if the memories didn't hurt as much this time. "He was so embarrassed." She took the bottle and pulled the cork out expertly, pouring them each a glass.

Luke tried to imagine the night in his mind, but found that he couldn't. He and Mara had been light years from a date at that time in his galaxy. The Reborn Emperor and the opening of the Academy had been foremost in his mind. "Mara and I never really dated. I asked her to marry me before we could date."

"Luke liked to joke that he had to ask me to marry him over two hundred times before I was ready." Mara smiled ruefully.

"Two hundred times? And you didn't kill him?"

She smirked. "No, eventually he wore me down…or Betrys and I were just so sick of hearing him ask. It was really sort of a joke between us. I got pregnant before anyone even knew we were dating, and…well, it was just something he would ask me every day of my pregnancy. Obviously he wore me down eventually." Mara's smirk melted into a smile. "Another story for the kids."

"I think they'd like that."

"Yeah. I know they will." Mara took a gulp from her glass and eyed him speculatively. "But as for you and your Mara, and the years between meeting and marrying—I guess I can tell that you didn't have a baby on the way to help you along." She half-smiled at him, but seemed to turn serious. "I remember you mentioning issues between the two of you. I thought my being Luke's assassin brought along more issues than possibly any other couple in the galaxy."

"_This_ galaxy, sure." Luke's stomach rolled, his earlier good humor dampened a little as he worried anew about Mara's reaction to the things he had been hiding from her. "We had those same issues. It was hard for Mara to change her way of thinking so quickly. She ran away from her emotions for a long time. But I think…sometimes I worry it was my fault. That we would have been together much earlier if it wasn't for certain things I did."

"What do you mean?"

He paused, scared of her reaction, but needing to tell her, to give her the missing piece of the puzzle. "I touched the Dark Side, Mara. In my galaxy, not long after Mara and I had met. On Byss. _That_'s why that planet scares me so badly. That's why I reacted the way I did with Niargen's cup. I was so arrogant back then. I thought I could trick Palpatine, that I could defeat the dark side from within but not become dark myself. I lost myself, and Leia redeemed me, helped me back to the light. That's where my and Mara's issues doubled and why we didn't get married—"

"Until 20," Mara cut in softly. "I think… I think I knew there was something vastly different. You feel so much the same in the Force as my Luke, but different. I knew that you had been through something that he hadn't."

"It truly is my greatest regret."

"Seems that you have many," she countered, alluding to the regrets he had already mentioned to her. "But they all flow from that one."

He looked down at the table. He didn't want to look up and see the hurt in her eyes again.

The silence stretched until Mara's hand snaked across the table and covered his. "Luke, we learn from our mistakes, and we move on. And from what I can see, from what you've told me, you _are_the man I know, so much like that man that I once knew. A good man. I…I can feel it, and not just in the Force. You have to let this go, Luke. Doubt will only hold you back."

Luke gasped lightly as the vision that had led him to this dimension turned into sudden reality. Tears pricked at his eyes as he realized the depth of the gift he had received from the Force, and from Mara. He had told Betrys nearly the same thing earlier, but hearing it from Mara made it all the more clear to him. The Force had been telling him that it was time to move on, to let his heart and mind guide him again and not be held back by his grief.

Only Mara could teach him to move on without her. That thought made him smile. "Thank you, Mara," he said, turning his palm to hold and gently squeeze her hand. "You always did know just what to say to me."

Mara pulled her hand away and took a sip of her drink. "It's the Ruge," she said with a smirk.

.

.

Ben commed from the party sometime later and said that he was staying in his sister's suite for the night. Luke wasn't sure if it was because he was still somewhat uncomfortable with him being there or if it was just a convenient way to party later, but he was grateful for the time alone with Mara, to figure things out. They would soon go before the Jedi Council to seek their guidance. Luke would take a room in the Temple and, as for he and Mara, he had no worries. He knew it would eventually work itself out. He would continue to try to get home for as long as it took, and for now that certainty was enough to comfort him.

For this night, though, he wanted to hold Mara in his arms again, to feel her pressed against him, warm and supple. He didn't bother to change as they entered her bedroom. He lay down on the bed, pulling her into his arms. She came willingly, settling her head against his shoulder, her warm breath tickling his neck pleasantly. He ran his fingers over her spine and closed his eyes, so thankful for the gift of holding her.

"I love you," he murmured. "I never thought I could love someone so much. I had to find you again to tell you that."

"And through such extreme measures, too." Her words were belied when she pushed closer against him. "I know… I've always known that. And, Luke, we'll figure this out," she promised. "We'll meet with the Council and discuss Byss and you. But for now…" She trailed off, tracing her fingers over his face.

The moment lengthened as they stared into one another's eyes, and she pushed up to softly meet his lips with hers. It was a slow kiss, lips barely brushing in a rush of sensation. Luke teased it out, letting his breath mingle with hers.

Mara pulled away first. "Let's just stay like this for now," she whispered.

That's what he wanted, too. He shifted further to his side to hold her fully against his body. Her familiar contours fit him perfectly and the scent of her hair made him think of home, of how she had always been his touchstone, his very definition of home. It was amazing that he had found that port in the storm again with this woman, so much like his own Mara, but someone he could love for her own life and personality, softened slightly from earlier motherhood and trials faced. That he was lucky enough to love two extraordinary Mara Jades was not lost on Luke.

He closed his eyes in contentment for the first time in years, his body relaxing and his mind setting completely free.

After a time in darkness he noticed a small prickling of light and chased toward it with his mind, for no other reason than it felt right to do so. When he caught it the light spilled over him, bathing him in a feeling of warmth and love. In that moment Mara was there with him in his mind, not just in his arms, almost as if the bond in the Force had been reestablished. After a moment of that euphoric sensation it seemed that Betrys and Ben were there, too, the four of them melding together, just as he, Mara, and Ben had done long ago on the _Errant Venture_before Ben's birth.

Mara's love was overwhelming, and Ben and Betrys felt so much like her, their love for their father overlapping with Mara's love for both men. He realized he was on a precipice, as in that moment a fifth mind joined with them and he could feel Ben—_his_Ben—at the edge of his consciousness. His heart cried out for his son, the light of his presence having been so missed. But his heart clung to Mara as he basked in the glow of that bond in the Force. But as much as he wanted to be with her, he knew he could not. He would always love her and miss her, as well as her children. But Ben needed him, and Luke had come to realize that he needed Ben as well. He loved his son, his gift from Mara, the light of their love made real. The rightness of that thought fell over him like his well-worn cloak, making him feel warm and safe.

He realized then that getting home had always been up to him. He did not need the missing IDD. He had to harness something more powerful than time and space itself. As Niargen said, the answer had been in front of him all the time. The Force was strong enough to grant the wish, if only he knew how to ask and didn't let doubt hold him back. The only doubt in his mind, Byss, disappeared as he saw future events unfold there, saw Mara and Betrys joining together with the other Jedi to defeat a Sith, a Sith with red hair that was _not_ Palpatine's clone. And he could see how they recognized a familiar device the Sith wielded, and how in their recognition they were able to stop her inter-dimensional escape…

As the last shred of doubt left him, he knew that his time with Mara and her children was over. The Force had given him a gift, but now it was time to return to his son, to his own life. With one last brush of love to Mara and her children, his sleeping presence smiled.

His decision made, the strange pulling sensation came over him again and he gasped, falling quickly into peaceful darkness.

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_There is still a chapter and an epilogue left. I hope you enjoyed Luke's realization and the power behind his actions. Love. As I've said before, this is a love story. But it's not just about the romantic or abiding love between a man and a woman. It's also about the parental love between a father and a son, because isn't that what _Star Wars _is really all about? Thanks for reading. _


	20. Chapter 17

_This is the last chapter of EoA, but there is an epilogue to follow. I will probably get ansty and post it on Wednesday. I generally do not like the endings to my stories (ask __**JediMara77-**__my constant overthinking of them drives her nuts!) but I love EoA's epilogue. So look for it on Wednesday! Again, thanks for reading!_

**Chapter 17**

When he woke, sunlight was streaming over the bed. _His _bed. He sat up and realized he was in his bedroom on Coruscant. His brain struggled to catch up and he looked around him, noticing that nothing seemed out of place. It was almost as if he had gone to sleep the night before and…dreamed.

Touching his head with his fingers, he realized that didn't seem right. It hadn't been a dream. It couldn't have been. Mara was so real, and her children—they were bright lights in a galaxy that needed them. The love he had felt with them had been real. He knew it had not, could not have been, a dream.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the IDD, still so innocuous in his hand. Contemplating it for a moment, he placed it back in his safe and headed into the 'fresher to shower. He would need to call the Council together to discuss safekeeping the IDD, but first he needed to comm—

"Ben!" he cried aloud, the longing for his son pushing to the forefront of his fuzzy mind. Turning from the 'fresher and racing for the comm station, he dialed the frequency for Ben's comlink. The interminably long period of waiting for the call to connect made him antsy and he paced the floor in front of the comm station, unable to sit. Finally the tone changed and Ben was there on the other line.

"Hello, Dad?"

Tears filled Luke's eyes at the anxious sound of Ben's voice. It had only been a week but it had been too long, too long and filled with dread at the prospect of never seeing his son again. Merely hearing Ben's voice soothed him like a cool drink after a long walk in the Jundland Wastes. "Hi, son."

"Where have you been? I've tried to comm you, and even Aunt Leia didn't know where you had gone! We felt your presence vanish… And there were rumors, Dad, of security force agents at your door, looking for something. The Council didn't say anything about you being on a mission. What's going on?"

So they _had_known he was missing. He knew it all along but had hoped that Ben wouldn't have noticed, that he or Leia hadn't panicked. But even as he felt bad for their worry, he couldn't help but smile. He was talking to his son again and his heart was glad. "Ben, I can explain all of it. But, first, where are you? Are you still on Adumar or on your way back?"

"We're heading back to Coruscant now. We have one more jump through lightspeed and we should be there tonight." Ben sounded relieved and panicked at once.

"That's good. Listen, when you get back will you meet me on the _Shadow_? I'm going to request some time for us. I think…I think we need to talk. I've missed you, son." Luke held his breath, waiting for Ben's answer.

"Yeah, Dad. I…think so, too. I'll meet you there, tonight. Skywalker out."

Luke smiled again as he disconnected his end of the call. He was not going to let this gift, this second chance with his son, go. But after a second the smile dropped and his eyes narrowed. He had several things to do before he could meet up with Ben.

But first he headed back to the 'fresher, discarding his clothing on the floor, pulling Mara's braid of hair from his pocket. He smiled at it and thought that Mara would tell him to throw it away, that it was nothing but dead cells and old memories. But he thought of how much he had loved to stroke her soft hair, how entranced he had been with the color and texture and thought that there was still meaning in old memories. He stepped to his safe and placed the lock of hair there, a treasure he would always keep.

Back in the fresher he started his shower and turned to the mirror to inspect his chin, realizing that he needed a shave. He reached for his razor as the mirror was beginning to fog and saw something in the glass. Frowning, he rubbed at the fog with his left hand, and his heart pulsed at the sight of Mara's wedding band there on his smallest finger… both rings gleaming against the dim light of the fresher. He brought the rings to his mouth and kissed them, thinking of the two amazing women he had loved. He lowered his hand to wipe at the mirror until he could see his chest and a huge smile spread across his face at the reddened patch of skin near his collarbone. As he had done before he reached his hand to touch it. "Mara," he breathed, watching the spot until the fog overtook the mirror again. "I'll always miss you."

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His first stop was the Temple, where the Masters' Council greeted him warmly but with concern. A few questioned where he had been and mentioned the same rumors Ben had spoken of, but he told them he needed time to think and that he would soon call a Council meeting to discuss it, among other things. He also noted that he would be leaving again for a few short days, taking Ben with him this time. But he made sure to emphasize that he would be in constant contact and well in comm range. Then he spoke briefly with Corran, smiling as he noted the carefully kept facial hair on his friend's face that set him apart from his other self in the alternate dimension. "Daala's been a nexu at our door," Corran told Luke. "Insisting that you had abandoned your post and threatening to take over control." Luke nodded, having known that Daala would pull something like that. "I'm proud of the way you held strong," he told Corran, meaning the entire Order. And he was. The Order had survived yet another attempt at extinction.

And that was something that would not happen. Not on his watch.

He quickly pulled Tionne aside and asked her if his suite of rooms was still unoccupied, and if it would be okay for him and Ben to move back in—if Ben wanted to, of course. She hugged him then, tears in her eyes. "We've been waiting for you, Grand Master," was all she said, and he knew that it was more than all right.

He took the time to comm Leia from the Temple, soothing her anxious worries. He told her that he would see her soon, and smiled as he told her that he loved her. The smile on her own face mimicked his, and though he knew she was worried about him, he could see that she realized he had changed in some way while he was gone. He told her he would tell her about it sometime before disconnecting his call.

His last stop was on the way out of the Temple, to the suite he, Mara and Ben had lived in before her death. He walked in and flicked on the lights to the quiet, empty rooms. His eyes tracked along the walls as he remembered his life with Mara there, remembering where the furniture had sat, spots where important conversations had taken place, even the mundane everyday tasks that had once seemed to only occupy time but now in retrospect seemed precious.

Overlapping with those memories he now had a new set of remembrances. He could see the suite as the other Mara had kept it, the holos of her children on a table that had sat just outside of the kitchen and the bed in that now empty room where they had spent their last night together. Staring at the blank space, overflowing now as it was with memories, the suite didn't seem so empty at all. The memories brought comfort, not sorrow. All at once he realized that he was still standing in an empty room wearing a huge grin on his face. Mara would laugh if she could see him now…and maybe, somehow, she could.

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After leaving the Temple Luke made a quick and clandestine stop at CSF headquarters before heading to the Chief of State's office. He went through the required security detail and was ushered right into her gleaming white office, as he knew he would be. If security agents were tracking him, as Ben said the rumor suggested, then Daala would probably want to arrest him on the spot.

"Master Skywalker," the Chief of State said, standing from her desk as he entered. "How nice of you to find me today. We've been looking for you. You're a hard man to pin down. Can I interest you in a cup of caf or some sweetcakes, perhaps?"

"No, thank you," he answered, placing his hands in his robe sleeves and giving her his best serene look. "And I'm curious as to why you had such a hard time locating me. I've been on Coruscant this entire time, though I suspect you knew that. I suppose now you'll call off your security force and your Mandolorians."

A tiny tick under her eye was the only indication that she had indeed been pressuring the Jedi Order and had made plans for future attacks. She was skilled in hiding her emotions, especially for a non-Force user. "My agents searched Coruscant thoroughly, Grand Master. You were nowhere to be found."

"Maybe you should employ better agents. Or maybe you should equip them with better devices."

A single red brow raised. "Is that so? Maybe with ysalamiri and nutrient frames?"

Luke didn't let her push him. "I'm not sure the budget could handle shipping them from Myrkr. But back to me and why I'm here—it's a funny thing, you see. I removed a potential weapon from a suspected murderer a week ago. At your order. Only, when I went to check on him, imagine my surprise to find him not listed among the prisoners."

"Marse Naelli met with an… unfortunate fate. He incited a riot and was killed during that altercation."

Luke didn't show any reaction. Naelli had gotten in over his head, it appeared. And, with no knowledge of the working mechanics of the IDD, he was no longer needed after Daala had exercised his purpose.

"But the fact remains that the prisoner had a powerful device on his person that was entrusted to the Jedi Order. You betrayed that trust, Master Skywalker, when you absconded with the item. And in doing so, you knowingly broke the law."

He has expected this. "I broke no law, Chief. You entrusted the device to the Jedi and the Grand Master of the Order kept it in his possession. On his person. For safety reasons, of course."

Daala's mouth tightened. "Of course. And, if I may ask, where is the device now?"

"It, too, met an…unfortunate fate," he said. "Even with all the safety precautions. I have, of course, filed a report at CSF headquarters. The device is no longer a concern to galactic safety."

It seemed that Daala realized that she had been backed into a corner. If she grew upset over the loss of the IDD she would reveal that her plan had been, all along, to lure him away with that which he wanted most in the galaxy. She knew that he knew that but wouldn't speak the words aloud. Instead, he saw a shift in her eyes and braced himself for what would come next. He took a deep breath to hold any doubts he may have had at bay. Daala's eye glittered as she spoke. "This proves to me what I've felt all along. You Jedi feel that you are above the law."

"We are not above it, we are outside of it," he corrected. "Bound by law, yes, but answerable to a larger galactic law—the Force."

"A government that is balanced should have no need of Jedi working outside of the law."

Luke's serenity did not slip. "As I'm sure you have forgotten, the Jedi are not a part of the government's agenda. We are separate from the state, yet our members are citizens of said state. Therefore the Jedi are not always in concert with the government, but our individual Jedi are certainly bound to the law of their star systems."

"And are they punished as such? If they step out of bounds and use weapons of mass destruction or…your Dark Side? Where is the justice when a Jedi steps out of bounds, Grand Master?" Daala suddenly looked far too smug as she sat in her seat and clasped her hands in front of her.

"They are policed by our own Order. Surely you've heard of our Masters' Council? And of course charges may be brought by the acting governmental body of any star system in which an act of, as you say, mass destruction has occurred. It just happens, Madame Chief, that no charges have ever been brought."

"Interesting, that. Let me cut to the chase here," Daala said, a slight tinge of nervousness starting to bleed out from her. "I have a deal for you, Master Skywalker. I believe that the Jedi are working too far outside of the law. Your own nephew fell to the Dark Side under your watch, as have countless others. I find this to be a dereliction of your duties as Grand Master."

Luke made no gesture but simply waited for her to continue.

"I could arrest you on these charges. However, I would be willing to make the deal I mentioned—if you could, say, leave Coruscant for a period of time and find the reason your nephew fell to the Dark Side, and effectively demonstrate that it was not your direct doing that led to his fall, I would exonerate you."

"An exile," he said, a small smile playing at his lips. "Your first attempt at that didn't work very well, did it? The thing is, our Order is rebuilding from Darth Caedus, as is this very government. I don't believe you have the authority to arrest me on any charges unless you wish to arrest those who allowed Jacen to rise to the office you now hold, as well. I am not interested in making a deal with you, but I do wish to work with you. Peace in the galaxy has always been my goal; perhaps that's one goal we could share?"

She didn't answer his question, merely met his gaze coolly. "I have my eye on your Order, Master Skywalker. _You_are the largest threat to peace the galaxy has witnessed. Go, then, but be warned that any step your Order may make outside of the law will be prosecuted by the Galactic Alliance. Now, if you please, I have work to do."

Luke nodded. "As have I, Madame Chief," he said, turning on his heel to walk out of the door, a free man.

.

.

He got to the _Shadow_just as early afternoon was turning the day hot. He smiled at the ship, something that didn't exist in the other universe he had visited. He couldn't sense Ben's presence onboard so he entered and checked on the ship, making sure no security agents or other officials had tried to mess with it. After finding it in working order he sat in the lounge, apprehension beginning to grow as he thought of his upcoming conversation with Ben. As the anxiety began to build in his chest he remembered Mara's words to him. He realized that he could not let doubt hold him back, especially not when it came to his son. He gathered his frustration and released it into the Force, his serenity falling back over him comfortably.

Ben's shining Force aura shone through the hangar and washed over Luke as the boy approached the ship. Luke held his breath and basked in the glow for a moment, Mara's words from years ago once again echoing in his head: _Love Ben with all your heart and make him the center of your world…_

"I can do that, Mara," he whispered, just as the ramp began to lower.

"Dad?" Ben asked, his red hair peaking around the corner to the lounge. He stepped through, Artoo Detoo rolling in behind him. "Dad!"

For a moment it was as if all the years between them, the bad blood and pain, disappeared. Luke rushed forward and enfolded his son in his arms, realizing that the little boy he remembered so clearly was almost a man now. He remembered Mara's son and how he had wanted to hug him, but this Ben, _his_Ben, he could and would hold. For as long as a teenager would allow it.

"Okay, Dad," Ben said after a beat. "It's not like we just won the Coruscant Lottery. You can let me go."

Luke rolled his eyes, but grinned. Ben was so like his mother. "Can't a father be happy to see his only son?"

"According to several very interesting biographies you may have more sons than just me, Dad."

"Trust me, you're all I could handle," Luke teased, punching Ben lightly in the arm as he moved back. "I've just…I've missed you."

Ben's eyes narrowed. "You have? Actually, something is … different about you. And it's not physical, because you still have the same boring wardrobe and bad hair."

Luke rolled his eyes again. "We're back together for twenty seconds and I've rolled my eyes more than I have in months."

"You're funny for an old man."

"Ha. Listen, I have a lot to tell you. And I want to hear how Adumar was. But first, I want your opinion on something. How would you like to move back into our suite at the Temple?"

Ben obviously wasn't expecting that question. "Really?"

"Really. You were right; I have changed in the last few days. And one thing I've realized is that we belong in the Temple and I should never have moved us out in the first place. I talked to Tionne and the rooms are ours, if we want them."

"I dunno, Dad. I mean, your apartment is so nice and cramped. I was taking a shower in there one day and nearly shook hands with the girl taking a shower in the building across the street. And you can't beat the view of—"

"Naked girls taking showers?" Luke interjected.

Ben smirked. "Good one, old man. And yes, I will be glad to move back to the Temple."

Luke grinned. "We'll do that right after we get back, then." Artoo beeped at the news that they were going somewhere and rolled off, presumably toward the cockpit.

"Back from where?"

"I'll tell you in a minute, but first—I'd like us to talk," Luke said, nervousness replacing the happy relief he just had at seeing Ben. Too often he had tried to talk only to be confronted by his own shortcomings or Ben's defensiveness. He took a deep breath and released the anxiety into the Force again, mindful of Mara's last lesson.

Ben's guard was up and Luke felt the boy's mental shields tighten, but he nodded and sat on the couch that lined the wall of the lounge. Apparently the sudden loss of his father had made him a bit more docile and ready to listen. Luke didn't like that it had taken such a cataclysmic event to bring them together, but he was willing to take the opportunity and run with it.

He sat across from Ben and wondered where to begin. He was torn about telling him exactly where he had been, not wishing to cause him any pain, or envy, at getting to spend a week with the woman who could have been his mother. But he didn't want any secrets from Ben, not any more. He pulled the IDD from his pocket. "It all started when I arrested a man and took this device from him." He launched into a brief account of Naelli's arrest and how the Chief of State had asked the Jedi to guard the device.

Ben stared at the device curiously. "What does it do?"

"It can transport beings into other dimensions," Luke explained. "Places a lot like our galaxy, but with minor differences."

"Alternate realities?" Ben looked somewhat skeptical but studied the device closer, accepting it from Luke's hand.

"Yes. I used it and travelled to a parallel galaxy, Ben. And there…I met Mara."

"Mom?" Ben's eyes were wide and suddenly the face that had looked so manly looked again like the small child Luke remembered.

"Not your mother exactly, but a parallel version of her." Luke swallowed thickly. "She helped me, Ben. While I was there. She helped me to understand that I need to move on. She helped me to understand that losing your mother didn't have to destroy me, destroy us."

"I can't believe you've been hanging out with some fake version of mom for the past week!" Ben's eyes narrowed angrily. "You didn't tell anyone where you were going so… so, what? You could go kr—"

Luke cut him off before he could finish. "Don't. I know you're angry about this, but just don't say anything like that, Ben." His mind flashed back to Mara's son making the same accusation. Ben, like his mother, was also a universal constant.

"So what did you do while you were there? What about you—I mean, the parallel you?" Ben's eyes still angry but a bit of contrition seemed to leak from his strong shields. Like his mother, he often spoke too quickly.

"Mara was a widow. The parallel…me…had died when Shimrra's amphistaph bit him."

Ben's eyes widened. "What about me?"

"He looked just like you, your parallel version. Made the same bad jokes." Luke cleared his throat before his voice could break. "Made me miss you more than I had been."

Ben murmured something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said, you never seemed to miss me before," Ben said quickly, the words running together. To break the awkward moment he started fiddling with the device in his hand, trying to avoid his father's eyes. "So if I were to turn this thing on, I could go there? I could see mom?"

"No," Luke said gently. "The device no longer works."

Ben's shoulders hunched as he eyed the broken device. After a tense moment he looked up and handed the IDD to Luke. "She wouldn't really be mom, anyway," he muttered.

Luke hated to hear the pain in Ben's voice. He had so much to make up for with his son. "She wasn't really your mother, but she thought of you first. Her first question to me was about you, and she did everything in her power to help get me home to you. But in the end, it was the Force that led me home, the Force and…love. Did you feel something in the Force last night?" He wondered if Ben had realized the role he had played in bringing him back from the other dimension.

"I felt like I touched your mind," Ben admitted. "But I was asleep and it was so hazy. Did I?"

"You helped to bring me back. So much like you did when you were born, with your mother. Our minds did merge, and you were the anchor that led me home. You're my hero, Ben."

Ben's face flushed red over his freckles. "Dad," he moaned. "Really?"

"Ben," Luke reached out for his son's shoulder, "I love you. I know I have so much to make up for over the last few years. I told Mara that I had been living a half-life without your mom, but I realized that I should never have let myself sink so far into depression. I should have been living my life for you, just as your mom requested."

Ben sniffed and wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. "She did?"

Luke told him the story of how Mara had asked him to make Ben the center of his world should anything happen to her, those many years ago when he was still a toddler. "You were the love of her life, Ben," Luke finished.

"I think I had some competition there." Ben swallowed hard but still managed to smirk at his dad. "She really loved that holdout blaster she always kept in her sleeve."

Luke laughed and used his hold on Ben's shoulder to move forward and embrace his son again. Ben accepted his hug, not pushing away as fast as he had before. But after a time he pulled back and look at his father.

"So now that we're all hunky dory—and please kill me if I ever use the phrase 'hunky dory' again—where are we going? You said 'when we come back' earlier."

Luke discreetly wiped at his eyes and grinned. "That's my boy. Ready for adventure."

Ben rolled his eyes. "And there's my Dad, stalling as always. Come on, Old Man."

"Let's go strap in and I'll tell you." Luke gestured for Ben to head to the cockpit. He followed behind his son, putting the IDD back in his pocket. Once in the captain's chair he put on his crash webbing and started the launch proceedings, calling for a position in the take-off queue.

"So?" Ben tapped his fingers on the armrest impatiently.

"I spoke with the Council to let them know that you and I were going to be gone a few days—"

"That kind of notice might have been helpful about a week ago, Dad."

Luke grinned. "Cute. And you're right. But for now, we're going to Endor." He input the coordinates while slying his eyes to gauge Ben's reaction. He was not disappointed when shock comically flashed over his son's face.

"Endor? The land of plush toys?"

"Ben. They are sentient creatures—"

"Who look like tiny Wookiees—"

"And we couldn't have brought the Empire down without them."

"I think that's just a spin the local Ewok Tourism Board came up with." Ben shook his head. "But seriously, why Endor?"

"Let's just say I had a tip that there's an offshoot of a religious cult there that are set on galactic domination." Luke pushed the lever to roll the _Shadow_ toward the exit bay.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Yeah, son, that's just what I said…"


	21. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

Luke stood on a craggy cliff overlooking ocean waves as they lapped at the beach. It was cold now, the off season, but still a beautiful beach with crystal clear water and soft white sand. Couples strolled hand in hand wearing long sweaters and sipping hot drinks while families combed the sands for seashells and sea glass. He could feel them all around him, their happy presences in the Force a welcome hum accompanying the rhythm of the ocean waves.

He and Mara had spent part of their honeymoon here on this beach, many years ago. She had never stood in this particular spot with him, but he remembered noticing it one evening as they had walked beside the surf under the light of a full moon. He smiled faintly, joy overtaking the pang of sorrow he suspected would always be there in his heart, even with all the changes he had been through in the past few months.

They had always talked about coming back here as a family, and he wished he had those memories to add to the ones of just he and Mara on the beach. But seeing Ben relax and have fun made the trip even more enjoyable than Luke had anticipated. They had survived their encounter with the fanatical Ewok tribe and that was not something he wanted to remember, though Ben insisted on singing the Yub Nub song often and loudly on the way home from that particular mission.

Home. He and Ben had moved back into the Temple, to the welcoming arms of the Jedi. Daala had yet to make another move against them, but part of him knew it was only a matter of time. But back at home with Ben, and among the Jedi, Luke felt more like himself again. He was more in charge of his life and destiny than he had been in some time. And he liked that feeling. It was almost as if a dark cloud had moved and he could see clearly once again. He knew he was ready for anything Daala might throw at him. He and the Jedi were ready.

His reason for standing on the cliff tugged at his memory. He pulled the IDD out of his pocket, staring at it in the sunlight reflecting from the water. It was a broken machine, but still he was carrying it around, bittersweet memories attached to it. He thought of Mara, the way she had felt in his arms and the completeness she brought to him. He thought of Betrys, the beautiful daughter he would never know for more than just a day, and of Ben, so like his own son, clever and powerful. He would never know their fates, but their destinies and his were no longer entwined and they would be fine. They had one another, and he had Ben.

He pulled back with his right arm and tossed the IDD as far as he could, watching as it arced up into the light and fell with a plunk in the middle of the ocean. And he felt no regret.

He turned to walk away but suddenly the sun was brighter and the wind crisper as he felt familiar arms wrap around his waist. _She_ was there in his mind again, her love as bright and intoxicating as always. _It'll be okay, my love_, phantom lips seemed to murmur in his ear as their souls merged for an eternal second. Then there was a familiar brush against his hair, so soft.

He gasped and tried to reach for the elusive hand, but the colors muted back to their normal shades and he was alone on the cliff once more. "Mara," he whispered, her name carried away on the wind as he stood there smiling.

"Dad?" Luke turned to smile at his son as he climbed up the small cliff. "What are you doing?"

Luke pulled his cloak tighter around himself. "Just enjoying the view."

Ben looked out over the expanse of water. "Yeah. Nice. Anyway, Daala's on the comm. She says you're under arrest for inciting bad fashion on the galaxy."

"Tell her I pled guilty to that charge years ago."

"See, there you go with the humor again. Who says Jedi Masters are stuffy?"

"Your mother always did."

"Yet she hung out with you all the time. I think she was protesting a little too much."

A smile touched Luke's lips. "Maybe."

"Anyway, I just climbed up here to tell you it was time to feed the kid. But I'll give you a minute to meditate or whatever you were doing." Ben started climbing back down.

Luke watched him go before turning to look back at the water. It was time to devote his energy to Ben and to the Jedi Order. Thanks to Mara, both Maras, he could do that now. Her love had always inspired him and would continue to do so. Ever and always.

He looked down at Ben and started climbing after him. "Hang on a minute," he called to his son. "I'll come with you."

.

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End, 'Echoes of Always'

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_I know that ending is used often, but there's a reason for it. All hail Tim Zahn, without whom most of us would only think of _Star Wars_ as a great film and that would be the end of it._

_I want to thank all of you for reading this story. It has meant so much to me, the story itself and your comments/thoughts/concerns. It just goes to show how much love we all have for these characters and that makes me smile. So __**thank you**__!_

_I also must thank two fantastic women who helped make this story what it is. First, __**JadePilot**__,__who was the first person I mentioned this idea to back in 2007 (and continued to bug her with for the next few years). Her faith in me and the story is what made me want to write it, and the story is FOR her. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend and confidant, gal. _

_And second, __**JediMara77,**__ who along with her 'Red Pen of Doom' made this story far more than it would ever have been with me alone at the wheel. Thank you for all your hard work, brainstorming, general awesomeness and friendship. You also helped me believe I could write something longer than a one-shot of smut (though, those are nice, too! *g*). _

_I have several ideas for pre-EoA AU L/M fics, but I also have a toddler who has decided bedtime is the enemy at the moment. (Poor Little Gal. Poor Mommy!) But there are at least two things in the works. You haven't seen the last of this universe... Check back late this summer for '200 Proposals', detailing AU Luke and Mara's (long) walk down the aisle. _


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